
Glass. 
Book. 



« t 



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i^ ii Kl 01 a. L> Kl 



LIFE 



>?-^ 



DOCTOR FRANKLIN. 



BY 

JOHN N. NORTON, x\. M., 

RECTOR OF ASCENSION CUUKOII, FUANKFOPa', KENTUCKY ; AUTHOR OP 

'• FULL PROOF OP MINISTRY," " SHORT SERMONS,"' " LIPK 

OF WASHINGTON," '• LIVES OF BISHOPS," KTC. 



" Kvery penny stamp is a monument to Franklin, earned, if not establisUed by 
himself, as the fruit of his early labors and his signal success in the organization 
of an infant post-ofiBce. " 

Robert C. Winthuop. 

" He pmfesses himself to be a Protestant of the Church of England, and holds 
in the highest veneration the doctrines of Jesus Christ." 

Franklin's Preface to Abridgment of Prayer-Bool^. 



NEW YOEK: 
H. B. PRICE, 884 BROADWAY. 

1861. 



,6 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S61, 

By JOHN N. NOETON, 

In the Clerk's Oflice of the District Court of the United States for tht 

Southern District of New Yorli. 



lS^.(,o 



KENNIE, SHEA & LINDSAY, 

■KKKOTVPKRS AND ElKCTROTYKKI 

HI, 83 4 85 C-iitro-sti-fet. 
Nkvv Vork. 



TO 

ALEXANDER DALLAS BACHE, LL.D., 

SUPEEINTENDENT OF THE UNITED STATES COAST SURVEY. 



It is youi- happy lot to be a lineal descendant of tlie illus- 
trious Franklin. I dedicate this his brief portraiture to you, 
because it is even your happier lot to reproduce his lineaments 
in characteristic services to our country and race. 

Franklin was ever the fittest man in the fittest place ; secun- 
dis duhiisque rectus. 

The calm philosopher of a colony whose chief maxim was 
Peace, he was captain, colonel, and generalissimo, when peace 
had to be fought for. Agent of the colonies to preserve exist- 
ing relations with the mother-land, he became ambassador, 
with more than "Plenipotentiary" powers, to secure Indepen- 
dence, when those relations were no longer tolerable. The 
greatest philosopher and the greatest statesman of his age, 
having filled the world with his fame, he yet gave even his 
octogenarian years to the Presidency of Pennsylvania, and at 
the same time to the convention which framed the Constitution 
of the United States. And as one of the founders of their 
empire, he labored first and last in the cause of education, 
morals, and religion, as the foundation of its durability. 

You, too, have borne arras ; you, too, have laid broad foun- 
dations in education, morals, and religion ; you, too, beyond 
any other than your great ancestor, have illustrated American 
science. 

That the work of both ancestor and descendant may con- 
tribute largely to the welfare of this people, and that all things 
may be so ordered and settled upon the best and sures?t foun- 
dations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion 
and piety may be established among us for all generations, is 
the humble, earnest prayer of 

THE AUTHOR. 



"Franklin appreciated the devout and transcendent labors of such 
men as Jonathan Edwards, In laying the foundations, and could empty 
his pockets at the heart-stirring appeals of Whitefield. His friendships, 
in England and America, were with bishops and divines. The Bishop 
of St. Asaph, of Sodor and Man, no less than the Methodist "Whitefield, 
were his friends; and he could cast an eye backward with affection and 
reverence from the glittering salons of Paris to the dark shades of 
Puritan ancestors. There was a sound vein of piety in his composition, 
which bore its fruits; nor had French levity, or companionship with 
the encyclopedists, blunted his religious education. His warning hand, 
raised to Paine on the eve of his infidel publication, deserves to be 
remembered."— 2)j<i/c^mcA;'s Cyclopcedia. 



"One of the most grateful things in my experience among the middle 
classes in England, France, and Germany, is, that I have been there 
recognized as the countryman of Franklin, and by virtue of this, have 
been often received as a Mend.''''— Goodrich's Becollections of a Life- 
Uine, 



"Zealous theologians have attacked the orthodoxy of his creed; casu- 
ists have cavilled at the materialism of his ethical precepts; but he was 
doubtless a good man ; he was unquestionably a great man, and he 
richly merits the title of 'the most useful man of any age'— a title 
■which he would have envied beyond all the gifts of fortune and laurels 
of fame."— JtfacawZay. 



PREFACE, 



If any good is accomplished by this memoir, it will 
be due, in no small degree, to Colonel E. W. Morgan, 
Superintendent of the Kentucky Military Institute, at 
whose suggestion it was prepared, and who kindly 
placed in the writer's hands a large mass of materials, 
most difficult to be obtained. Grateful acknowledg- 
ments are also made to several of Dr. Franklin's de- 
scendants; to the Rev. Dr. Dorr, of Christ Church, 
Philadelphia; and to General Winfield Scott, for their 
valuable contributions. 

Small as this volume is, in comparison with those of 
Duane and Sparks, it will be found to contain various 
particulars not given in the larger works. 

While an attempt has been made to vindicate the 
name of Dr. Franklin from the charge of infidelity, 
there has been no wish to conceal his faults, nor even 
to apologize for them. We have tried to draw his por- 
trait with all faithfulness, and the public must judge of 
the degree of success with which this has been accom- 
plished. It is as no advocate of party or sect that we 
have labored. The Patriot Philosopher was, emphati- 
cally, the friend of toleration, — believing it to be one 
means of making men most truly religious. 

March, 1860. 



"Franklin is deadl The genius that freed America and poured a 
flood of light over Europe, has returned to the bosom of the Divinity. 

'•The sage whom two worlds claim as their own, the man for whom 
the history of science and the history of empires contend with each 
other, held, without doubt, a high rank in the human race. 

"I propose that it be decreed, tiiat the National Assembly, during 
three days, shall wear mourning for Benjamin Franklin." — Mirabeau. 



"A new town in the State of Massachusetts having done me the honor 
of naming itself after me, and proposing to build a steeple to their 
meeting-house, if I would give them a bell, I have advised the sparing 
themselves the expense of a steeple for tlie present, and that they would 
accept of books instead of a bell, sense being preferable to sound. These 
are therefore intended as the commencement of a little parochial library 
for the use of a society of intelligent, respectable farmers, such as our 
country people generally consist of" — Dr. Franklin's Letter to Richard 
Price, in 1785. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER FIRST. 



A grave charge, which many believe to be true— The purpose for which this 
book is written — Birth and parentage — Christening in the Old South Church — 
A large family— Putting out sons to trades — Higher views for Benjamin- His 
uncle's liberal offer— How Mr. Franklin got out of the fold— Something about 
Puritanism— Early promises of scholarship— Studies broken off- The leader of 
the mischief-makers— The fishing-wharf— Speedy punishment— Mr. Franklin 
concludes to allow his sou to select a trade for himself— Fresh difficulties. . 13 



CHAPTER SECOND. 

A bookworm — Voyages and travels — The dry old theological books— Johu 
Bunyan's works— Advantages and disadvantages — Cotton Mather's essay — 
Franklin's grateful remembrance of it — Bound apprentice in a printing-office 
— Books become more plenty with him — A poet in a small way — John Colli)is 
and his argumentative turn— Mr. Franklin criticises his son's style to some 
purpose— What an odd volume of the Spectator did— The printer's boy makes 
his escape from the " Old South" — " A more excellent way" — Learning to use 
milder and less offensive terms— Mastering old difficulties — Geometry and 
navigation 22 



CHAPTER THIRD. 

The fourth American newspaper begins its career — A curious note— Advice and 
apprehensions— The printer's boy tries his hand at writing for the paper — 
"Who can the author be?" — James Franklin in prison — The apprentice as- 
sumes the editorial tripod— Quarrels between the brothers— A flimsy scheme— 
An open rupture— Benjamin goes to New York— Mr. Bradford befriends him— 
Journey to the Quaker City— His entrance described by himself— A meal of 
dry bread — Miss Read's amusement at his strange appearance — The Quaker 
meeting—" I'll show thee a better one"— Getting into business 32 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER FOURTH. 

Keimer's printing-house — Aquila Rose — One of the French prophets — Taking 
board at Mr. Read's— The anguish which parents are made to suffer by their 
thoughtless children— The retreat of the runaway discovered— Makes the 
acquaintance of Sir William Keith— Large promises— Franklin goes back to 
Boston for money — Unsuccessful result of his application — Collins costs his 
friend a pretty penny— Sir William renews his promises on a larger scale- 
Love matters— The Annis sets sail— " I don't know such a person!" — The 
Governor's falsehoods discovered — Making the best of circumstances — Another 
cause of regret 43 



CHAPTER FIFTH. 

Lessons in frugal "^y and sobriety—" The Water-American"— A new friend — Ex- 
periments in swimming— How to learn this art— Curious experiment— Franklin 
returns to PbAladelphia- Changes among old acquaintances— Brief career as a 
merchant— In Keimer's office once more— A new firm— The Junto— Editing a 
newspaper— A library established— One partner doing the work of both— A 
better arrangement- Characteristic anecdote — An essay on paper currency — 
Marriage 53 



CHAPTER SIXTH. 

Rewards of diligence— Standing before kings— An industrious wife— The first 
silver spoons— Novel mode of dealing with Congress— Poor Richard's Alma- 
nac—Franklin's religious views at this stage of his career— Clinging to 
Presbyterianism as long as he could— The eloquent preacher who wrote but 
poorly — Becomes acquainted with the Church— A pewholder for sixty years — 
Attending worship under difficulties— Resumes his studies— Visit to Boston — 
Last interview with his brother James— Clerk of the Assembly— Appointed 
postmaster— A prayer-book stolen 64 



CHAPTER SEVENTH. 

Whitefield visits Philadelphia— The shortsighted policy of that age of spiritual 
lethargy— Effects of Whitefield's eloquence— His orphan house— Franklin's 
intercourse with him— "Thee seems to be out of thy right senses 1" — Preach- 
ing to vast multitudes— Testing the powers of Whitefield's voice— Advantage 
enjoyed by itinerant preachers — Franklin publishes Whitefield's works — Their 
last meeting— Interesting letter— Motives with which benefits should be con- 
ferred—Faith and good works— Example of our blessed Lord 76 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER EIGHTH. 

Prosperity — Franklin's efforts for tbe public good— Militia system — Education- 
Public fast-day — The Franklin stove — Philosophical studies begun— Dragged 
into the public service again — Establishment of the Pennsylvania Hospital- 
Improving the streets of Philadelphia— Changes in the general post-ofBce 
department— Honors conferred— Curious experiments in electricity — Phenom- 
ena of thunder-gusts— Franklin's discoveries carry his name to other lands . 85 



CHAPTER NINTH. 

A general Congress at Albany— Franklin's plan for union— The British govern- 
ment disapprove of it— General Braddock sent over— His embarrassments 
relieved by Franklin's energy— The unsuccessful expedition— Braddock's poor 
opinion of the American troops— Franklin's militia bill— Proceeds to the 
frontier to erect fortificationjs— The way to secure a prompt attendance at 
prayers— Chosen colonel— DiflBculties with the Proprietaries— Franklin sent 
to England as tbe agent of the Province— His reception there— Made doctor of 
laws — Two anonymous publications, which produced their intended effect- 
Visit to Holland and Flanders— The armonica— Return to America 101 



CHAPTER TENTH. 

No time for domestic enjoyment— The duties of postmaster-general — Extensive 
tour of duty— Sarah Franklin— New difficulties— Sensible letter— Value which 
Franklin attached to the Prayer-book— Once more in England— The Stamp 
Act, and the troubles which grew out of it— Franklin's efforts to set matters 
right— Examination before the House of Commons— Becomes more bold and 
decided — The English ministry once more in mischief— Franklin becomes 
weary of ineffectual efforts for better things— Hasty departure for America — 
Death of his wife— Some particulars concerning her 115 



CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 

The reader is introduced to the Bishop of St. Asaph— Franklin enjoys his gen- 
erous hospitality — Keeping a grandson's birthday — Chit-chat which is not to 
be repeated— Franklin begins his autobiography- Dr. Shipley's noble stand 
in regard to American affairs— Humorous letter on the death of Miss Shipley's 
squirrel— A touching reminiscence— The death of the good bishop— Dr. 
Franklin's letter of condolence— Earthly friendships brought to a close. . . 131 



10 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER TWELFTH. 

Dr. Franklin in Congress— The whole country in agitation on account of the 
conflict at Lexington— Causes of the American Revolution— Letter to Dr. 
Priestley— Treacherous conduct of General Gage— A busy old man— Frugality 
and industry become fashionable— Evidences that our patriotic fathers looked 
to God for help— Peyton Randolph's funeral— New post-ofBce arrangements— 
The half-bound folio of three quires of paper— Military affairs— Franklin 
serves on various important committees— Secret correspondence opened with 
friends abroad— Commissioners sent to Canada— Very little accomplished. 141 



CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 

Beady for independence— Virginia takes the first decided step— John Dickinson 
has his doubts— Arguments answered— The Declaration drawn up and signed— 
Anecdote told by Mr. Jefferson-" We must all hang together I"— King George 
proposes to pardon his rebel subjects — The two Howes come over as commis- 
sioners—Correspondence with Dr. Franklin— The game of chess— "They 
ought to kiss and be friends"— General Sullivan carries a message to Con- 
gress—One more attempt at negotiations, and then the game ends 154 



CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 

Proposing an alliance with France— Three commissioners appointed— Dr. 
Franklin and his grandsons— Reception by the French— Takes lodgings at 
Passy— The venerable man — Honors paid to him— First interview of the com- 
•nissioners with the French minister— Kindness in secret— Bolder measures 
follow— England indignant— The old enemies at war— America neither to be 
dragooned nor bamboozled— Sharp points and blunt ones— Reception at court 
—Anecdotes — Description of Franklin by a German historian—" One Benny 
Franklin worth two kings !" 165 



CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 

Philadelphia tAken by the British— Franklin's house robbed— Another source 
of trouble— William Franklin, the tory— Sketch of his career— Obtuseness of 
feeling— Matter-of-fact letter on his mother's death— Dr. Franklin's distress at 
the course pursued by his son — Mention made of him in his will — Lessons in 
French— Applauding in the wrong place—" The spectators do not pay !"— El- 
kivnah Watson's recollections of Franklin— French dinner-party— Franklin's 
portrait in high company— Playing on the armonica— Weighing the chances 
of war — Ecstasy of joy — Paris illuminated 178 



CONTENTS. 11 



CHAPTEK SIXTEENTH. 

Thoughtful arrangement to prevent Captain Cook's vessel from being disturbed 
— Less about Lafayette than his goo:lness merits— Correspondence upon tho 
presentation of a sword— Another character, and quite a different one— *'Th«» 
Age of Reason"— Franl^lin's noble letter to Paine— Publication of the miser- 
able work — Paine becomes an object of abhorrence to all good men — His deatb 
as described by an eye- witness— An additional antidote for the poison — "J 
would give worlds had the 'Age of Reason' never been published 1" — Twofold 
warnings 19? 



CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH. 

Some leading events briefly noted — Dr. Franklin requests to be recalled home 
After waiting three years longer, the petition is granted— Bidding farewell t 
France— Meets with friends at Southampton — Landing at Philadelphia amids 
the ringing of bells, and other demonstrations of joy— Action of the Genera* 
Assembly — Chosen President of Pennsylvania — " I am got into my niche, 
after being kept out of it twenty-four years" — A delegate to a most important 
convention — Franklin's speech in defence of daily prayers — "God governs in 
the affairs of men"— Signing the Constitution— The sun behind the president's 
chair 206 



CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. 

Franklin's writings easily identified— The germs of ideas now triumphant — 
"Words spoken in season" — Copper coinage— A good suggestion — The Frank- 
lin copper— The order of the Cincinnati, and its hereditary honors — Wash- 
ington quiets a storm— Ascending and descending honors— Ribbons and 
medals — The bald eagle which looked like a turkey— A bird of courage— The 
dead fly restored to life — Franklin's wish — Wonders he might have seen. . 216 



CHAPTER NINETEENTH. 

Protest against duelling — Franklin's services for his country and mankind— His 
respect for true religion— False charges refuted— Letter to Dr. Johnson — 
Recognition of God's providence — Consolations in affliction — "These are Thy 
doings, O Lord I"— The swarm of bees— A test subscription— Not blinking a 
troublesome question— Dr. Priestley's influence discovered— President Stiles' 
catechism— Doubts on a most important point— More light promised 230 



12 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER TWENTIETH. 

No ofBces of profit — Dr. Franklin carries ont his princii^les — Retirement from 
public life — A scene in tlie domestic circle— Painful sickness— Farewell letter 
to President Washington— Patience in suffering- Repeats Dr. Watts' hymns 
— Preparing to depart— Picture of the crucifixion — Looking unto Jesus— Falls 
asleep— Account of the funeral— Plain tombstone — Act of kindness for poor 
mecli.auics- Honors paid to Franklin after death— Items from the parish 
register of Christ Church, Philadelphia— Conclusion 240 




[?I1!TH-PLACE OF FKANKLIX. 

Front (.'hap. 1. 



LIFE 



DOCTOR FRANKLIN 



CHAPTER FIEST. 

A grave charge, which many believe to be true— The purpose 
for which this book is written — Birth and parentage — Chris- 
tening in the Old South Church — A large family — Putting 
out sons to trades — Higher views for Benjamin — His uncle's 
liberal offer — How Mr. Franklin got out of the fold— Some- 
thing about Puritanism— Early promises of scholarship — The 
leader of the mischief-makers — The fishing-wharf— Speedy 
punishment — Mr. Franklin concludes to allow his son to se- 
lect a trade for himself— Fresh difficulties. 

THE writer once heard a popular lecturer 
pronounce Doctor Franklin an Infidel. J^o 
doubt others entertain this opinion concerning 
him. It is the fault of many of the biogra- 
phies of our great rrien, that they only portray 
one side of them. We see them makino^ won- 
derful discoveries in science, or fighting brave- 

2 



14 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

ly the battles of tlieir country, or presiding 
with dignity in the chair of state, — while little 
is revealed concerning their thoughts and 
feelings. In this life of Dr. Franklin, we have 
no purpose to serve but that of truth. "We 
believe him to have been a devoted j)atriot, — 
a .man ready for every emergency, — and with- 
al, one who feared God, and who endeavored 
in sincerity to serve Him. His example shows 
to the young men of our land, how much may 
be accomplished by setting out in life with a 
high and laudable ambition, and being guided 
by true and noble principles. 

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, 
January IT, 1706. 

He was the youngest son of the youngest 
son for five generations, the fifteenth child of 
his father, out of a family of seventeen. 

Josiah Franklin was an English non-con- 
formist, who had come over to Boston about 
16S5 ; a man of strength and prudence of 
character, — a tallow-chandler and soap-boiler 
by trade. The mother of the future philoso- 
pher, represented a literary name of the old 
province of Massachusetts, being the daughter 
of Peter Folger, the author of a little poetical 
volume, entitled " A Looking-glass for the 



15 

Times," in which liberty of conscience was 
boldly asserted.* 

It appears from the records of the Old 
South Church, Boston, of which Mr. Franklin 
and his wife were members, tha.t the subject 
of this memoir was baptized on the very day 
of his birth. The family occupied a house in 
Milk-street, opposite to the place of worship 
just referred to, — a picture of which we are 
glad to furnish for those of our readers who 
have a taste for such things. 

* This worthy couple were buried at Boston, where their 
distinguished son caused a monument to be placed over their 
graves, with this inscription : 

JOSIAH FRANKLIN, 

AND 

A B I A H, HIS "H^IFE, 

LIE HERE INTERRED. 

THET LIVED LOVINGLY TOGETHER IN WEDLOCK, 

FIFTY-FIVE YEARS ; 

AND WITHOUT AN ESTATE, OR ANY GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT, 

BY CONSTANT LABOR, AND HONEST INDUSTRY, 

(WITH GOD'S BLESSING,) 

MAINTAINED A LARGE FAMILY COMFORTABLY ; 

AND BROUGHT UP THIRTEEN CHILDREN AND SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN 

REPUTABLY. 

FROM THIS INSTANCE, READER, 

BE ENCOURAGED TO DILIGENCE IN THY CALLING, 

AND DISTRUST NOT PROVIDENCE. 

HE WAS A PIOUS AND PRUDENT MAN, 

SHE A DISCREET AND VIRTUOUS WOMAN. 

THEIR YOUNGEST SON, 

IN FILIAL REGARD TO THEIR MEMORY, 

PLACES THIS STONE. 

J. F. BORN 1655 ; DIED 1744. Ml. 89. 
A. F. BORN 16G7 ; DIED 1752. Mt. 85. 



16 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

At the time of which we are speaking, 
Boston was quite a small place compared with 
what it is now, but the people were indus- 
trious and enterprising, and worthy progeni- 
tors of those who in our day enjoy its prosper- 
ity and greatness. 

With so large a family to provide for, Mr. 
Franklin was obliged to put out his sons as 
apprentices to different trades, as soon as they 
were old enough for the purpose. Benjamin, 
however, he resolved to devote to the ministry, 
and at eight years of age he was sent to the 
grammar-school, and soon gave promise of 
making a good scholar. The uncle after 
whom he was named, a devout and well-dis- 
posed man, had invented a system of short- 
hand by which he was enabled to take down 
the discourses of the celebrated preachers of 
the day, — and by way of encouraging his little 
nephew to pursue the course which his father 
had proposed, — he promised to make him a 
present of his choice collection, when he was 
ready to enter the pulpit. 

We spoke of Mr. Franklin as a non-confonn- 
ist. The family, for many generations before, 
had been members of the Church of England, 
and it was not until- the reign of Charles the 



MACAULAY ON PURITANISM. IT 

Second, that any of tliem left the old Apostolic 
fold. Then, in consequence of some sectional 
difficulty, in which articles of religious faith 
had no concern, Josiah Franklin and his 
brother Benjamin, began to attend upon the 
preaching of the English dissenters — the rest 
of the family remaining steadfast in their 
attachment to the Church of their fathers. 

A disposition like that possessed by our 
little hero, could never find much that was 
congenial in the cold and rigid severities of 
Puritanism,"^ and while he regarded the piety 

* Not a few persons were delighted when Macaulay, in the 
first vohxme of his English History, ventured to make some 
statements in regard to the origin of the Church, which seemed 
to strip her of her lofty claims to be the kingdom of our Blessed 
Lord. The same individuals who take his authority in such 
matters, should listen with patience when he speaks of things 
more nearly concerning themselves. We quote the following 
fine passage from his third volume. 

" The scrupulosity of the Puritan was not that sort of scrupu- 
losity which the apostle had commanded believers to respect. 
It sprang not from mordid tenderness of conscience, but from 
censoriousness and spiritual pride : and none who had studied 
the New Testament could have failed to observe that, while we 
are charged carefully to avoid whatever may give scandal to 
rlie feeble, we are taught by divine precept and example to 
make no concession to the supercilious and uncharitable Phar- 
isee. Was every thing which was not of the essence of religion 
to be given up as soon as it became unpleasing to a knot of 
zealots, whose heads had been turned by conceit and the love 
2* 



18 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

of his parents with respect and reverence, their 
particular form of religious belief became, in 
maturer years, actually repulsive to him. 

Benjamin continued at the grammar-school 
about a year, and made rapid progress, but his 
father began to think that the expenses of a 
colleo^iate education would be more than he 

of novelty ? Painted glass, music, holidays, fast-days, were 
not of the essence of religion. Were the windows of King's 
College Chapel to be broken at the demand of one set of fanat- 
ics? Was the organ of Exeter to be silenced to please another? 
Were all the village bells to be mute because Tribulation 
Wholesome, and Deacon Ananias thought them pi'ofane? Was 
Christmas no longer to be a day of rejoicing ? Was Passion 
week no longer to be a season of humiliation ? These changes, 
it is true, were not yet proposed. But if — so the High Church 
man reasoned — we once admit that what is harmless and edify- 
ing is to be given up because it offends some narrow under 
standings and some gloomy tempers, where are we to stop? 
And is it not probable, that, by thus attempting to heal one 
schism, we may cause another? All those things Avhich the 
Puritans regard as the blemishes of the Church, are by a large 
part of the population reckoned among her attractions. May 
she not, in ceasing to give scandal to a few sour precisians, 
cease also to influence the hearts of many who now delight in 
her ordinances? Is it not to be apprehended, that, for every 
proselyte whom she allures from the meeting-house, ten of her 
old disciples may turn away from her maimed rites and dis- 
mantled temples, and that these new separatists may either 
form themselves into a sect far more formidable than the sect 
which we are now seeking to conciliate, or may, in the violence 
of their disgust at a cold and ignoble worship, be tempted to 
join in the solemn and gorgeous idolatry of Rome?" 



19 

would be able to meet. The lad also, as we 
may readily suppose, did not manifest any 
great delight at the thought of figuring as a 
Puritan divine, and the plans for his future 
course were suddenly changed. 

He was accordingly taken from the gram- 
mar-school, and placed imder the instruction 
of Mr. George Brownwell, who taught writing 
and arithmetic with success. 

Benjamin soon learned to write a good 
hand, but his taste for figures proved to be 
small. At the age of ten, we find him in his 
father's shop, very busy in cutting wicks for 
the candles, filling the moulds, waiting upon 
customers, and running of errands. The busi- 
ness did not suit him at all, and living near 
the seaside, he soon fancied that he should 
prefer to go to sea as a sailor and learn some- 
thing of the world. 

Mr. Franklin discouraged this idea, and 
Benjamin had to content himself with becom- 
ing expert in swimming, and in the manage- 
ment of boats. 

He was a sort of captain among the boys, 
and now and then led them into mischief. On 
one occasion, finding it rather too muddy to 
stand with comfort upon the marshy borders 



20 T.TFK OF FRANKIJX. 

of the mill-pond where they fished, it was pro- 
posed to build a wharf, and our young friend 
showed his comrades a large heap of stones, 
intended for a new house, wdiich would just 
answer their purpose. Accordingly, as soon 
as the workmen had left for the evening, the 
little mischievous urchins, assembled in full 
force, and labored so diligently, that the wharf 
was speedily completed. Of course, the ring- 
leaders were soon detected, and received such 
a chastisement at the hands of their parents as 
they richly deserved. 

Benjamin continued in the chandler-shop 
for two years, whe» his brother John, who 
had been brought up- to his father's trade, 
married and set up business for himself in 
Ehode Island. This change alarmed the little 
fellow, as mucli more of the work now fell to 
his share, and he began to fear that he must 
spend all his days in this humble, and, to him, 
disagreeable employment. He did not at- 
tempt to conceal his apprehensions, and his 
father, dreading lest he might run off to sea, as 
his brother Josiah liad done before, concluded 
that it would be better to select an avocation 
more agreeable to him. 

It was finallv determined that he should 



TWELVE YEARS OLD. 21 

(earn tlie cutler's trade, and the boy was 
placed for some days on trial with Samuel 
Franklin, the son of his uncle Benjamin, who 
had been taught the business in London, and 
had just established himself in Boston. The 
fee demanded for the apprenticeship was not 
satisfactory to Mr. Franklin, and his son was 
taken home again. 

We have thus traced Benjamin's course to 
the middle of his twelfth year. My readers 
must not suppose that he had lost his fondness 
for books, although we have said so little on 
the subject, and we shall speak of this in the 
next chapter. 



CHAPTEE SECOND. 

A bookworm — Voyages and travels — The dry old theological 
books — John Banyan's works — Advantages and disadvan- 
tages — Cotton Mather's essay — Franklin's grateful remem- 
brance of it — Bound apprentice in a printing-office — Books 
become more plenty with him — A poet in a small way— John 
Collins and his argumentative turn — Mr. Franklin criticises 
his son's style to some purpose — What an odd vohime of the 
Spectator did — The printer's boy makes his escape from the 
"Old South" — "A more excellent way" — Learning to use 
milder and less offensive terms — Mastering old difficulties — 
Geometry and navigation. 

BENJAMIN" FEANKLIN, from his infan- 
cy, had been passionately fond of reading, 
and all the money he could j)0ssibly obtain 
Avas laid out in books. Yoyages and travels 
possessed a wonderful fascination for him, and 
Plutarch's Lives were read over again and 
again with increasing delight. 

His father's collection of books was very lim- 
ited, and consisted for the most part of those 
dry doctrinal discussions so poorly adapted to 
the capacities of a child, and which even those 
of adult years often read to little profit. 

The first books which Benjamin could claim 



COTTON MATHKk's ESSAY. 23 

as his own were Jolin Bimyan's works, in sep- 
arate small volumes, — and these he afterwards 
sold in order to purchase Burton's " Historical 
Collections." 

The youth of our own day, who have a choice 
variety of books to select from, can hardly un- 
derstand the condition of those of an earlier 
period, who were denied such precious privi- 
leges. Our forefathers, however, were more 
careful and attentive readers than many of us 
can claim to be ; and they were seldom tempted 
by the prospect of something fresher, to lay 
aside a volume before its contents had been 
thoroughly examined. Even among his father's 
theological treasures, Benjamin found books 
which, if they served no better purpose, helped 
him to form habits of close attention, and en- 
couraged mental discipline. 

He never regretted the time which he had 
spent over " An Essay to do Good," by Dr. 
Cotton Mather,* the old Puritan divine. 

* On the 12th of May, 1784, Dr. Franklin thus expresses his 
obligations to this book, in a letter to Samuel Mather, written 
from Passy : 

Keverend Sir: 

I received your kind letter, with your excellent advice to 
the people of the United States, which I read with great pleas- 



24 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

As his son exhibited such a fondness for 
books, Mr. Franklin determined to make him 
a printer. 



ure, and hope it will be duly regarded. Such writings, though 
they may be lightly passed over by many readers, yet, if they 
make a deep impression on one active mind in a hundred, the 
effects may be considerable. Permit me to mention one little 
instance, which, though it relates to myself, will not be quite 
uninteresting tD you. When I was a boy, I met with a book, 
entitled "Essays to do Good," which, I think, was written by 
your father. It had been so little regarded by a former posses- 
sor, that several leaves of it were torn out ; but the remainder 
gave me such a turn of thinking, as to have an influence on my 
conduct through life ; for I have always set a greater value ou 
the character of a doer of good^ than on any other kind of repu- 
tation ; and if I have been, as you seem to think, a useful citi- 
zen, the public owes the advantage of it to that book. 

You mention your being in your seventy-eighth year ; I am 
in my seventy-ninth; we are grown old together. It is now 
more than sixty years since I left Boston, but I remember well 
both your father and grandfather, having heard them both in 
the pulpit, and seen them in their houses. The last time I saw 
your father was in the beginning of 1724, when I visited him 
after my first trip to Pennsylvania. He received me in his li- 
brary, and on my taking leave showed me a shorter way out of 
the house through a narrow passage, which w^as crossed by a 
beam overhead. We were still talking as I withdrew, he ac- 
companying me behind, and I turning partly towards him, when 
he said hastily, " Stoop^ stoop ."' I did not understand him till 
I felt my head hit against the beam. He was a man that never 
missed any occasion of giving instruction, and upon this he 
said to me, '■^You are young, and have the world hefore you ; stoop 
as you go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps.'''' 
This advice, thus beat into my head, has frequently been of use 



APPRENTICED TO A PRINTER. 25 

In 1717, James, an elder brother of Benja- 
min's, returned from England with a press and 
type, to begin business in Boston, and thus a 
favorable opening was found for this new ar- 
rangement. As the old inclination for going to 
sea still kept possession of the boy's mind, the 
anxious father bound him out as an apprentice 
to his brother James, in order to place as much 
restraint upon him as possible. 

The young printer was now enabled to bor- 
row and buy more books than before, and he 
sometimes sat up the greater part of the night 
engaged in reading. 

His studious habits attracted the attention 
of Mr. Matthew Adams, a thriving merchant, 
w^ho kindly offered the use of his library to the 
ambitious lad, — a privilege which was grate- 
fully accepted. 

About this time Benjamin became quite fond 
of reading poetry, and actually wrote some 
tolerable lines himself: — one of his productions 
being called forth by the melancholy shipwreck 
of Captain "Worthelake and his two daughters. 
This ballad had an extensive sale, and the au- 
to me ; and I often think of it, when I see pride mortified, and 
misfortunes brought upon people by their carrying their heads 
too high. — Sparks^ Collection of Frankliri's Writings^ vol. x., p. 82' 



26 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

thor's vanity was considerably flattered. And 
here we must introduce one of Franklin's early 
friends. This was John Collins, a Boston boy, 
with whom he had become very intimate, and 
whose tastes seemed quite congenial with his 
own. They were both fond of argument, and 
carried on frequent discussions on various sub- 
jects. 

Collins had the aidvantao^e of his antas^onist 
in a ready flow of words, and the latter endeav- 
ored to remedy this defect on his part by com- 
mitting his thoughts to writing. A long dis- 
cussion was carried on, in a series of letters, on 
the grave question whether it was proper to 
extend the advantages of a liberal education 
to the female sex. Mr. Franklin chanced to 
come across some of his son's productions, and 
while commending the correctness of his spell- 
ing and punctuation, he criticised his slovenly 
and inaccurate style, and recommended more 
attention to it in future. This judicious advice 
was not neglected. 

Soon after his father had drawn his attention 
to his careless mode of expressing his thoughts, 
Benjamin met with an odd volume of the " Spec- 
tator," — that rare collection of English essays 
which has excited such a kindly influence upon 



THE SPECTATOR. 27 

Dennie, Paulding, and Irving. The book was 
devoured with the greatest eagerness, and the 
young printer determined to make Addison's 
beautiful style a model for his own. 

With this view, he would read over a few 
pages in the Spectator,* and then laying aside 
the book, endeavor to express the same ideas 
in as simple and appropriate language as he 
could. This done, his own composition was 
carefully compared with the original, and cor- 
rections and improvements made. The com- 
mand of a neat, transparent, graceful style is 
something well worth striving after, and we 
hope that Franklin's successful efforts in this 
respect may inspire our young readers with an 
ambition to make the same attempt. Reading 
continued to be Benjamin's favorite employ- 
ment, whenever he could command a leisure 
hour ; and it appears, from his own confession, 
that he often shut himself up in the printing- 
office on Sundays, engrossed with a book, while 
his father and the other members of the family 
were at the Old South meeting-house, listening 



* It is pleasant to observe that Franklin always remembered 
his obligations to the Spectator. In his will he bequeaths to 
the son of his friend, Mrs. Hewson, "a set of Spectators, Tat- 
tlers, and Guardians, handsomely bound." 



28 LIFK OF FRANKLIN. 

with commendable patience to the interminable 
discourses with which the congregation were 
uniformly favored. 

Had Josiah Franklin been a worshipper in 
God's temple, — where the old Prayer-book* 
was used, with its decent proprieties, its glori- 



* "The English liturgy gains by being compared even with 
those fine ancient liturgies from which it is to a great extent 
taken. The essential qualities of devotional eloquence, con- 
ciseness, majestic simplicity, and pathetic earnestness of sup- 
plication, sobered by a profound reverence, are common be- 
tween the translations and the originals. But in the subordi- 
nate graces of diction the originals must be allowed to be far 
inferior to the translations. And the reason is obvious. The 
technical phraseology of Christianity did not become a part of 
the Latin language till that language had passed the age of 
maturity, and was sinking into barbarism ; bift the technical 
phraseology of Christianity was found in the Anglo-Saxon and 
in the Norman-French long before the union of those two dia- 
lects had produced a third dialect superior to either. The 
Latin of the Eomau Catholic services, therefore, is Latin in the 
last stage of decay. The English of our services is English in 
all the vigor and suppleness of early youth. To the great Latin 
writers, Terence and Lucretius, to Cicero and Caesar, to Tacitus 
and Quintilian, the noblest compositions of Ambrose and Greg- 
ory, would have seemed to be, not merely bad writing, but 
senseless gibberish. The diction of our Book of Common 
Prayer, on the other hand, has, directly or indirectly, contribu- 
ted to form the diction of almost every great English writer, 
and has extorted the admiration of the most accomplished Infi- 
dels and of the most accomplished Non-conformists — of such 
men as David Hume and Robert Plall." — Macaulai/s England^ 
vol. iii., p. 430. 



DUTY OF CHURCH-GOING. 29 

ous anthems, and its soul-stirring litanies, — he 
would have found his studious son less anxious 
to escape from the performance of the public 
duties of religion. We do not intend by this 
remark to excuse the printer's boy from all 
blame, but merely to give an incidental warn- 
ing against dej)artures from the " old paths." 
He was always of a serious turn, and in after 
years, when he had learned a more excellent 
way of serving God than he had known before, 
lie was most anxious that his family should 
follow it. Hence we find him writing to his 
wife: "I think you should go oftener to 
church;"* and to his daughter: "Go con- 
stantly to church, whoever preaches. The act 
of devotion in the Common Prayer Book is 
your principal business there." f 

But more of this hereafter. 

While Franklin was listening with diligence 
to improve his style, he found two little 
sketches on the arts of Rhetoric and Logic, at 
the end of an old English grammar, which 
gave him some valuable hints. 

JSTot long after, he procured Xenophon's 
" Memorable Things of Socrates," which indu- 



SjJarks, vol. vi., p. 254. f Ibid., p. 

8* 



30 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

ced him to lay aside an abrupt habit of contra- 
diction and positive argumentation, that he 
had acquired, and to express himself in milder 
and more modest terms, — a much surer way of 
securing an attentive hearing and of disarm- 
ing prejudice. 

When about sixteen years of age, he read a 
book recontmending a vegetable diet, and the 
views appeared so sensible that he at once 
adopted them. His brother James being un- 
married, did not keep house, but boarded 
himself and his apprentices in another family. 
Benjamin's refusing to eat meat occasioned so 
much inconvenience, that he proposed to his 
brother to give him half the money he paid 
for his board, and he would board himself. 
James readily agreed to this, and from that 
time forward, instead of eating with the other 
printers, our hero dispatched his frugal meal 
of a bit of bread, a tart, or a bunch of raisins, 
aiid a glass of water ; and then, with a clear 
head, and quickened apprehension, he seized 
his book. An additional fund for the pur- 
chase of books was thus secured.* 

* A caution ought to be expressed, however, since medical 
science condemns an exclusively vegetable diet, as tending to 
develop pulmonary disease. — Ed. 



RESTUDIES HIS ARITHMETIC. 31 

We referred in the first chapter to Benja- 
min's slow progress in arithmetic, during his 
brief career as a school-boy. He now became 
ashamed of his ignorance in this branch of 
learning, and taking up an old treatise on the 
subject, he went through it by himself with 
the greatest ease. He also studied some 
small works on geometry and navigation, and 
Locke's famous " Essay on the Human Under- 
standing." 

'New and more stormy scenes will be intro- 
duced in our next chapter. 



CHAPTEE , THIED. 

The fourth American newspaper begins its career — A curious 
note — Advice and apprehensions — The printer's boy tries his 
hand at writing for the paper — " Who can the author be?" — 
James Franklin in prison — The apprentice assumes the edi- 
torial tripod — Quarrels between the brothers — A flimsy 
scheme — An open rupture — Benjamin goes to New York — 
Mr. Bradford befriends him — Journey to the Quaker City — 
His entrance described by himself— A meal of dry bread — 
Miss Read's amusement at his strange appearance — The Qua- 
ker meeting — "I'll show thee a better one" — Getting into 
business. 

OIN^ the 21st of August, 1721, James Frank- 
lin published the first number of the New 
England Courant. This was a note'worthj 
event, as being the fourth newspaper which 
appeared in America.* 



* " The first newspaper issued in North America, was print- 
ed in Boston, in 1690. Only one copy of that paper was known 
to be in existence. It was deposited in the State Paper Office 
in London, and was about the size of an ordinary sheet of let- 
ter-paper. It was stopped by the government. The Boston 
News-Lttler was the first regular paper. It was first issued in 
1704, and was printed by John Allen, in Bedding Lane. The 
contents of some of the early numbers were very peculiar. It 
had a speech of Queen Anne to Parliament, delivered 120 days 



EARLY AMKKICAN NEWSPAPERS. 33 

Some of his friends tried to persuade him 
not to engage in the undertaking, on the 
ground that it could not possibly succeed ; as, 
in their opinion, the newspapers already in ex- 
istence were quite enough for America. 

In these days, when every thriving Village in 
the land has its weekly sheet, and the larger 

previously, and this was the latest news from England. In one 
of the early numbers there was an announcement that by order 
of the postmaster-general of North America, the post between 
Boston and New York sets out once a fortnight. Negro men, 
women, and children were advertised to be sold ; and a call 
was made upon a woman wlio had stolen a piece of fine lace 
worth fourteen shillings a yard, and upon another who had 
conveyed a piece of line calico under her riding-hood, to return 
the same, or be exposed in the newspapers. 

This pioneer paper was published for 74 years ; it was the 
leading Tory paper, prior to the Eevolution. The Boston Ga- 
z^ite was the organ of the Patriots, and was issued at Water- 
town. At the commencement of the Kevolutionary war, there 
were but thirty-seven newspapers in the United States. Of 
this number only eight were committed to the British govern- 
ment, but five others were brought over. The oldest existing 
paper in Massachusetts was the Worcester Spy^ first published 
in this city during 1770, but removed to the western part of the 
State on the occupation of Boston by the British troops. Our 
country, although the youngest in the world, outstrips all 
others in the number of publications and newspapers sold. 
The number ?f copies of newspapers printed here is four times 
greater than in Great Britain, though England has twice as 
many magazines. The number of i-eligious newspapers here, 
and the e.xtent of their cireulatiou, forms a striking social char- 
acteristic. " — Publisher's Circular. 



34 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

towns issue dailies innumerable, such anticipa- 
tions of failure force one to smile. 

James Fi^nklin persevered in carrying his 
purpose into effect, and his brother Benjamin 
besides assisting in setting the types and print- 
ing off the sheets, was employed to deliver the 
papers to the subscribers. But our young 
friend was ambitious to do more than this, and 
he determined to try his hand at making some 
communications for the press. 

Being a mere boy, he was afraid that James 
would object to printing any thing of his in the 
paper ; he accordingly disguised his writing, 
and put his little- piece by night under the of- 
fice door. 

The next morning, the publisher showed 
the anonymous communication to the knot of 
gentlemen who were accustomed to meet at 
the printing-office to chat about politics. They 
read it, spoke of it with approbation, and haz- 
arded various conjectures as to who the un- 
known author could be. The printer's boy, 
who was listening most attentively to their 
conversation, was delighted to hear them at- 
tribute his juvenile production to several indi- 
viduals of higli standing for character and learn- 
ing. With this encouragement, he continued 



BECOMES AN EDITOR. 35 

his contributions to the paper, in the same mj^s- 
terioiis way, until, having exhausted his stock 
of information, he told the whole story to his 
brother. 

James was much surprised, as may be well 
supposed, but he was so much afraid lest Ben- 
jamin might become too vain, that he scarcely 
gave him the credit he deserved ; and showed 
him, on various occasions, by his harsh and 
tyrannical treatment, that he not only under- 
stood his position as an elder brother, but as a 
master whom his apprentice was bound im- 
plicitly to obey. 

While the course of events was thus flowing 
on in a troubled current, a piece appeared in 
the New England Courant which gave offence 
to the assembly, and James Franklin was put 
in prison for a month, because he woidd not 
discover the author. 

Benjamin was also brought before, the Coun- 
cil and admonished. 

During his brother's confinement, he had the 
management of the paper, and notwithstanding 
their private differences, he gave the rulers 
some hard rubs, which he knew would be grat- 
ifying to James. Other persons, however, be- 
gan to set him down as a pert young fellow, 



36 LIFE OF FRANKLIN*. 

who was quite too fond of satire. The pris- 
oner's discharge was accompanied with this sa- 
gacious order : that '^ James Franklin should 
no longer print the newspaper, called The New 
England CourantP 

Some of his friends advised him to evade the 
order by changing the title of the paper, but 
he thought it better to allow it to be issued in 
the name of Benjamin Franklin. 

Fearing lest the Assembly might arrest him, 
as still printing the paper by his apprentice, he 
wrote a discharge on the back of Benjaulin's 
old indenture, to be shown in case of necessity, 
at the same time making him sign a fresh agree- 
ment, which was to be kept secret. And so 
The New England Courant appeared for sev- 
eral months, with the printer's boy as its nom- 
inal editor. 

Fresh difficulties soon arose between the 
brothers, and the younger, knowing that James 
would be afraid to disclose the nature of the 
arrangement which existed between them, took 
advantage of the discharge from his apprentice- 
ship, and left the office. lie always regretted 
this as one of the wrong acts of his life. 

James Franklin took good care that his re- 
bellious apprentice should obtain no employ- 



ARRIVAL IN PHILADELPHIA. 37 

ment in Boston, and the lad, through the as- 
sistance of his friend Collins, secnred his pas- 
sage in a slo4)p bound i'or New York. Accord- 
ingly, in October, 1723, at the age of seventeen, 
he found himself three hundred miles from 
home, a stranger in that city, with no letters 
of introduction, and Avith very little money in 
his pocket. Fortunately, his former passion 
for going to sea had left him, or it might now 
have been readily gratified. Benjamin offered 
his services to Mr. William Bradford, an old- 
established printer, who had once lived in Phil- 
adelphia. He could give him no employment, 
but advised him to go to Pennsylvania. " My 
son at Philadelphia," he said, "has lately lost 
his principal hand, Aquila Rose, by death ; if 
you go thither, I believe he may employ you." 
The young man lost no time in following this 
advice, and was soon on his way to the Quaker 
City. He travelled part of the way in an open 
boat, and part on foot, and after some curious 
adventures, he landed at Market-street wharf, 
about nine o'clock on a bright Sunday morning 
in October. AVe must allow him to describe 
his entrance into that city. 

" I was in my working dress, my best clothes 
coming round by sea. I was dirty from my 

4 



38 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

being so long in the boat. My pockets were 
Btnffed out with shirts and stockings, and I 
knew no one, nor where to look for lodging. 
Fatigued with w^alking, rowing, and the want 
of sleep, I was very hungry ; and my whole 
stock of cash consisted in a single dollar, and 
about a shilling in copper coin, which I gave 
to tlie boatmen for my passage. At first they 
refused it, on account of my having row^ed, but 
I insisted on their taking it. Man is sometimes 
more generous when he has little money, than 
when he has plenty ; perhaps to prevent his 
being thought to have but little. 

" I walked towards the top of the street, gaz- 
ing about, till near Market-street, where I met 
a boy with bread. I had often made a meal of 
dry bread, and, inquiring where he had bought, 
I went immediately to tlie baker's he directed 
me to. I asked for biscuits, meaning such as 
we had at Boston ; that sort, it seems, was not 
made in Philadelphia. I then asked for a 
three-penny loaf, and was told they liad none. 
Not knowing tlie different prices, nor the names 
of the different sorts of bread, I told him to 
give me three-penny worth of any sort. He 
gave me, accordingly, three great puffy rolls. 
I was surprised at the quantity, but took it, 



FIRST MP]AL IN PJIILADELPHIA. 89 

and, having no room in my pockets, walked 
off with a roll under each arm, and eating the 
other. Thus I went up Market-street as far as 
Fourth-street, passing by the door of Mr. Read, 
my future wife's father, when she, standing at 
the door saw me, and thought I made, as 1 cer- 
tainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous appear- 
ance. Then I turned and went down Chestnut- 
street and part of Walnut-street, eating my 
roll all the way, and, coming round, found 
myself again at Market-street wharf, near the 
boat I came in, to which I went for a draught 
of the river water ; and, being filled with one 
of my rolls, gave the other two to a woman 
and her child that came down the river in the 
boat with us, and were waiting to go farther. 

"Thus refreshed, I walked again up the 
street, which by this time had many clean- 
dressed people in it, who were all walking the 
same way. I joined them, and thereby w^as 
led into the great meeting-house of the Qua- 
kers, near the market. I sat down among 
them, and, after looking round a while, and 
hearing nothing said, being very drows'y 
through labor and want of rest the preceding 
night, I fell fast asleep, and continued so till 
the meeting broke up, when some one was 



40 LIFE OF FKANKMN. 

kind enough to rouse me. This, therefore, was 
the lirst house I was in, or slept in, in Phila- 
delphia. I then walked down towards the 
river, and looking in the faces of every one, I 
met a young Quaker man, whose countenance 
pleased me, and, accosting him, requested he 
would tell me where a stranger could get a 
lodtyino^. We were then near the sio:n of the 
Three Mariners. ' Here,' said he, 'is a house 
where they receive strangers, but it is not a 
reputable one; if thee wilt walk with me, I'll 
show thee a better one ;' and he conducted me 
to the Crooked Billet in Water-street. There 
I got a dinner ; and while I was eating, sever- 
al questions were asked me, as, from my 
youth and appearance, I was suspected of 
being a runaway. 

"After dinner, my host having shown me tc 
a bed, I laid myself on it without undressing, 
and slept till six in the evening, when I was 
called to supper. I went to bed again very 
early, and slept yery sormdly till the next 
morning. Then I dressed myself as neat as I 
could, and went to Andrew Bradford the 
printer's. I found in the shop the old man 
his father, whom I had seen at Xew York, 
and who, travelling* on horseback, had got to 



ENGAGEMKNT WlTfl KKIMER. 41 

Philadelphia before me. He introduced me 
to his con, who received me civillj^, gave me a 
breakfast, but told me he did not at present 
want a hand, being lately supplied with one ; 
but there was anotlier printer in town, lately 
set up, one Iveimer, who perhaps might em- 
ploy me ; if not, I should be welcome to lodge 
at his house, and he would give me a little 
work to do now and then, till fuller business 
should offer. 

" The old gentleman said he would go with 
me to the new printer ; and when we found 
him, 'Neighbor,' said Bradford, 'I have 
brought to see you a young man of your 
business ; perhaps you may want such a one. 
lie asked me a few questions, put a compos 
ing-stick in my hand to see how I worked 
and then said he would employ me soon 
though he had just then nothing for me to do 
And, taking old Bradford, whom he had never 
seen before, to be one of the town's people 
that had a good A^ill for him, entered into a 
conversation on his present undertaking and 
prospects ; while Bradfoi-d, not discovering 
[not making known] that he was the other 
printer's father, on Keimer's saying he expect- 
ed soon to get the greatest part of the business" 



42 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

into his own hands, drew him on, by artful 
questions, and starting little doubts, to explain 
all his views, what influence he relied on, and 
in what manner he intended to proceed. I, 
who stood by and heard all, saw immediately 
that one was a crafty old sophister, and the 
other a true novice. Bradford left me with 
Keimer, who was greatly surprised when I 
told him who the old man was." 



CHAPTER FOURTH. 

Keimer's printing-house — Aquila Rose — One of the French 
prophets — Taking board at Mr. Read's — The anguish which 
parents are made to suffer by their thoughtless children — The 
retreat of the runaway discovered — Makes the acquaintance 
of Sir William Keith — Large promises — Franklin goes back 
to Boston for money — Unsuccessful result of his application 
— Collins costs his fi-iend a pretty penny— Sir William renews 
his promises on a larger scale — Love matters — The Annis sets 
sail — " I don't know such a person !" — The Governor's false- 
hoods discovered — Making the best of circumstances — 
Another cause of regret. 

E left Franklin, at the close of the last 



w 



chapter, in Keimer's printing-house. It 
must have been a very humble establishment, 
as it could only boast of an old damaged press, 
and a small worn-out fount of English types. 

Keimer was at this time engaged in com- 
posing an Elegy on Aquila Rose, - — the young 
man whose death had been mentioned to 



* A brief account of Aquila Eose and Samuel Keimer will be 
found in Duyckincks' " Cyclopedia of American Literature," 
vol. i., p. 97. Some specimens of the poetry of both are there 
presented ; also the elegy composed by the survivor on tho 
death of his friend. 



44 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

Franklin, while he tarried in New York. He 
was much respected in Philadelphia, and had 
been secretary to the assembly, and enjoyed 
some reputation as a poet. 

Samuel Keimer was quite a character in hi& 
way. A native of the old world, where he 
had been one of the French prophets, he was 
disposed to set up in America as the Evan- 
gelist of a new religion. Although something 
of a scholar, he knew very little of the art of 
printing ; and Franklin discovered, before they 
parted, that he was a good deal of a knave.* 

As it did not suit Keimer's ideas of propriety 
that the young man, while employed in his 
office, should be living with Bradford, he pro- 
posed to get lodgings for him at Mr. Read's, 
with whose fair daughter we are already 
slightly acquainted. This arrangement was 
accordingly made, and something important 
grew out of it, as we shall hereafter have 
occasion to mention. 

Franklin soon began to make acquaintances 
among the young people of Philadelphia who 
Avere fond of reading, and he spent his even- 
ings very pleasantly. 

All this while his father's family had receiv- 
ed no information concerning him,— his friend 



SIR WILLIAM KEITH. i5 

Collins keeping the secret with the utmost fi- 
delity. "We cannot forbear remarking here, 
that this was another grave error in the young 
man's career, which no doubt occasioned him 
many disquieting thoughts afterwards. 

Giddy ^^ouths are too apt to forget how 
much anguish anxious parents suffer on their 
account ; and they should endeavor to be 
more considerate towards those whose tender 
affection can never be fully repaid. 

An incident now occurred, which occasioned 
Franklin; s return home sooner than he had 
intended. He had a brother-in-law, Robert 
Homes, the master of a little sloop which plied 
between Boston and Delaware. While the 
vessel was lying at New Castle, forty miles be- 
low Philadelphia, he accidentally heard where 
the young printer was, and wrote him a kind 
letter, telling him of the distress of his rela- 
tives on his account, and advising him to go 
back to Boston. Franklin replied to this com- 
munication, making out a pretty strong case 
for himself. It so happened that Sir William 
Keith, governor of the province, was then at 
New Castle, and Captain Homes, when the 
answer came, spoke to his excellency of his 
truant brother-in-law, and showed him the 



46 lifp: of fkanklin. 

epistle. The governor was astonished when 
he was told the w^riter's age, and began to talk 
in his nsual large way of the great things 
which he was disposed to do for so promising 
a yonth. Upon returning to Philadelphia, Sir 
William' very condescendingly called at the 
printing-office, and introduced himself to the 
astonished joarneyman, and insisted upon his 
coming to see him at his own house. The 
governor proposed to Franklin to set up busi- 
ness for himself, and promised to secure the 
public printing for him ; at the same time 
urging him to go at once to Boston and obtain 
pecuniary assistance from his father. 

About the end of April, 1724, a little vessel 
was advertised to sail for Massachusetts, and 
the young man set off for home, carrying a 
most flattering letter from Sir William, in 
which his former promises were repeated, in 
even stronger terms than before. After a two 
weeks' voyage, he landed at Boston, having 
been absent about seven months. 

His appearance occasioned much surprise, 
and his parents rejoiced over their lost son. 

Mr. Josiah Franklin was a man of too much 
solid sense to take mere words for more than 
they were worth; and while he rejoiced t< 



KETUKN TO PHILADELPHIA. 47 

hear so good an account of Benjamin, he 
thought it better for him to work on qnietly 
in a small way until he became of age, when 
he would b-e ready to do all in his power to 
advance his interests. 

Young Collins was so much pleased with his 
friend's account of Philadelphia, that he set 
off without delay to try his fortune there him- 
self. When Franklin stopped at New York 
to inquire for 'him, on his return to Phila- 
delphia, he found him in a wretched plight, 
having spent all his money in drinking and 
gambling, and our young printer was obliged 
to pay his bills at the lodging-house, and ad- 
vance hiin means to prosecute the journey. 

While tarrying in 'New York, Franklin, 
strangely enough, made the acquaintance of 
another eminent personage. This was Gover- 
nor Burnet, son of the famous bishop of that 
name. 

Franklin at last got safely back to Phila- 
delphia with his dissipated companion, who 
continued to impose on his generosity until, 
being invited to go to Barbados as a teacher, 
we lose sight of him altogether. 

Governor Keith professed to be disappoint- 
ed at the result of the trip to Boston, but de- 



4:S, LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

clared that if the young man's father was toa 
prudent to risk any thing for him, he would 
establish him in business at his own cost. 

All this sounded so fair, that Franklin had 
not a doubt of his sincerity, and began to 
build fine castles in the air, which he after- 
wards discovered were resting on very unsub- 
stantial foundations. 

Thus far these grand prospects had been kept 
a profound secret, or it is probable that some 
friend, who knew the governor better, would 
have advised the unsuspecting youth not to 
rely on him too implicitly. 

Every thing seemed to be going on swim- 
mingly. At Sir William's suggestion, Frank- 
lin had made out a list of what would be 
needed in his printing-office, with a view of 
sending to England for them, when the fair- 
spoken governor remarked that perhaps he 
had better go over and select the type and 
other necessaries himself. "Then," said he, 
" while there, you may make acquaintance, 
and establish correspondences in the booksell- 
ing and stationery line." 

Franklin agreed that this might be advanta- 
geous, when the governor added, "Then get 
yourself ready to go with the Annis," which 



ATTENTIONS TO MISS KEID. 49 

was the yearly sliip, and the only one passing 
between London and Philadelphia. 

As some months would elapse before the 
ship sailed, the young man continued to work 
with Keimer, who little suspected all the grand 
schemes which had been contrived. 

Meanwdiile, Miss Read is found to be a very 
agreeable person, and Franklin pays her a 
good deal of attention, which finally ends in 
his making. proposals of marriage. As a long 
and dangerous voyage was about to be made, 
and the parties w^ere both very young, it w^as 
prudently arranged by the fair girl's mother, 
that no positive engagement should be entered 
into until the printer should come back from 
Eno^land, and become settled in business. 

As the time for his departure drew nearer, 
Franklin called upon the governor for the let- 
ters of introduction w^hich had been promised 
him, but was put off from day to day, under 
various pretences, until the Annis was actually 
spreading her sails for the voyage. 

He then" hastened to Sir William's house to 
take his leave and receive the letters, when his 
secretary came out and said that his excellency 
was particularly engaged, but that the letters 
should be sent in good season; at the same 



50 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

time wishing him a good voyage and a speedy 
return. Franklin was a little pnzzled, but be- 
lieving that all would be right in the end, he 
gave himself no further concern about it until 
the ship had got out upon the broad ocean. 
Understanding that Governor Keith's despatch- 
es had been brought to the captain, he asked 
him for the letters that were to be under his 
care. The officer replied that all were put 
into the mail-bag together, but that before they 
reached England, he should have an opportu- 
nity of selecting them for himself. With a 
pleasant company, and good living, the time 
passed quickly away ; and when they entered 
the Channel, the captain kept his word. 

Franklin looked over the letters, and found 
some upon which his name had been put, as 
being under his care, and also a few others 
which were addressed to booksellers and sta- 
tioners, which he supposed might be intended 
for him. Arrivino^ in London on the 24th of 
December, 1724, he waited first upon the sta- 
tioner, delivering the letter as froni Governor 
Keith. "I don't know such a person," said 
he ; but opening the letter, he continued, " oh ! 
this is from Riddlesden. I have lately found 
him to be a complete rascal, and I will have 



A FOOLISH HABIT. 51 

nothing more to do with him, nor receive any 
letters from him." So saying, he handed the 
epistle to the astonished youth, and tiirniDg on 
his heel, went back to serve a customer. 

Franklin's eyes were now opened, and he 
discovered, with no little mortiti cation, that 
the governor had been practising a gross de- 
ception upon him. 

t5uch conduct on the part of Sir William 
appears almost unaccountable. It is a simple 
act of justice to the English government to 
to mention, that he was not an officer appoint- 
ed by the crown, but one of the creatures of 
of the Proprietaries. The descendants of Penn 
selected governors of Pennsylvania to share 
with themselves the ^perquisites of place, even 
to the degree of participating in the gratuities 
which they were able to get by special vote of 
obsequious legislative assemblies. 

Sir \Yilliam Keith sometimes disregarded 
the instructions of the Proprietaries, but there 
is no doubt but that he was chosen at first 
under the impression that he would be a 
pliant and obedient servant. He had acquired 
a foolish habit of saying agreeable things to 
everybody, and this is perhaps the secret of 
his shameless behavior towards the poor 



52 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

printer-boy. Franklin found himself in an 
extremely awkward position, but with his 
accustomed philosophy, he made the best of 
circumstances, and began to work at Palmer's, 
a famous London printing-liouse, where he 
continued almost a year. We regret to say 
that during this period he was exceedingly 
remiss about writing to the confiding girl, on 
the other side of the ocean, whose aifections 
he had so successfully won. This was another 
error of his life, upon which he alw^ays looked 
back with sorrow. 



CHAPTEK FIFTH. 

Lessons in frugality and sobriety — " The Water- American" — 
A new friend— Experiments in swimming — How to learn this 
art — Curious experiment — Franklin returns to Philadelphia — 
Changes among old acquaintances — Brief career as a merchant 
— In Keimer's office once more — A new firm — The Junto — 
Editing a newspaper — A library established — One partner 
doing the work of both— A better arrangement— Characteris- 
tic anecdote — An essay on paper currency — Marriage. 

WHILE working in the London printing- 
house, Franiilin tried to teach his fellow- 
apprentices some of his own frugal and tera- 
pei-ate habits. They were accustomed to spend 
a large part of their daily earnings at tippling- 
houses, under the impression that their strength 
could only be kept up by drinking strong 
beer. Franklin, on the contrary, insisted that 
good cold water would serve even a better 
purpose, and the English workn^ien were 
oblio-ed to confess that the Water-Ajnerican, 
as they called him, could perform more labor 
than themselves. Probably, he found very 
few who were willing to follow his example, 
no matter how clearly his point was establish- 



54 LIFE OF FRANKLiX. 

ed. During his sojourn in London, our hero 
became acquainted with a young man named 
Wj^gate, who, having wealthy relations, had 
been better educated than most of printers. 
He was a tolerable Latin scholar, and spoke 
French, and the two friends were of great 
benefit to each other. 

Among other things, Franklin tanght Wy- 
gate to swim,-^an accomplishment in which 
the Boston lad greatly excelled. 

In a letter written long afterwards, the 
great American philosopher thus speaks on 
the subject: 

" I do not know how far corks or bladders, 
may be nseful in learning to swim, having 
never seen much trial of them. Possibly, 
they may be of service in supporting the body 
while you are learning what is called the 
stroke, or that manner of drawing in and 
striking out the hands and feet, that is neces- 
sary to produce progressive motion. But you 
will be no swimmer till you can place some 
confidence in the power of the water to sup- 
port you; I would therefore advise theacquir- 
ing that confidence in the first place ; espe- 
cially, as I have known several, who, by a 
little of the practice necessary for that purpose, 



LEARNING TO SWIM. 55 

have insensibly acquired tlie stroke, tauglit as 
it were by nature. The practice I mean is 
this. Choosing a place where the water deep- 
ens gradually, walk coolly into it till it is up 
to your breast, then turn round, ^^our face to 
the shore, and tlirow an egg into the water 
between you and the shore. It will sink to 
the bottom, and be easily seen there, as your 
w^ater is clear. It must lie in water so deep 
as that you cannot reach it to take it up but 
by diving for it. To encourage yourself in 
order to do this, reflect that your progress 
will be from deeper to shallower water, and 
that at any time you may, by bringing your 
legs under you and standing on the bottom, 
raise your head far above the water. Then 
plunge under it with your eyes open, throw- 
ing yourself towards the egg^ and endeavoring 
by the action of your hands and feet agaiqst 
the water, to get forward till within reach of 
it. In this attempt you will find that the 
w^ater buoys yovl up against your inclination ; 
that it is not so easy a thing to sink as you im- 
agined ; that you cannot but by active force get 
down to the egg. Thus you feel the power of 
the water to support you, and learn to confide 
in that power; while your endeavoi-s to ovei*- 



56 LTFK OF FKANKLIX. 

come it, and to reach the vgg^ teach you the 
manner of acting on the water with j'Oiir feet 
and hands, which action is afterwards used in 
swimming, to support your liead higher above 
water, or to go forward through it." 

Again, in another letter to a different per- 
son, he adds the following interesting observa- 
tions : 

" When I was a boy, I amused myself one 
day with flying a kite ; and approaching the 
bank of a pond, which w^as near a mile broad, 
I tied the string to a stake, and the kite 
ascended to a very considerable lieight above 
the pond, while I was swimming. In a little 
time, being desirous of amusing myself with 
my kite, and enjoying at the same time the 
pleasure of swimming, I returned, and, loos- 
ing from the stake the string with the little 
stick which was fastened to it, went as^ain 
into the water, where I found, tliat, lying on 
my back, and holding the stick in my hands, 
1 was drawn along the surface of the water in 
a very agreeable manner. Having then en- 
gaged another boy to carry my clothes round 
the pond, to a place wdiich I pointed out to 
him on the other side, I began to cross the 
pond with my kite, which can-ied me quite 



RETURNS FROM LONDoX. Di 

over without the least fatigue, and with the 
greatest pleasure imaginable. I was only 
obliged occasionally to halt a little in my 
course, and resist its progress, w^hen it appear- 
ed that, by following too quick, I lowered the 
kite too much ; by doin^ which occasionally, 
I made it rise again. I have never since that 
time practised this singular mode of swim- 
ming, though I think it not impossible to cross 
in this manner, from Dover to Calais. The 
packet-boat, however, is still preferable." ^ 

When Franklin had spent almost eighteen 
months in London, a good olfer was made him 
to return to Pliiladelphia, and engage in the 
mercantile business, and as he had begun to 
feel weary of so long an absence from his 
native land, he gladly embraced it. Sailing 
from Gravesend on the 23d of July, 1726, he 
landed at Philadelphia on the 11th of October, 
where he found that various changes had 
taken place. He kept a journal of the voyage, 
Avhich is published as an appendix to Sparks' 
Biography. 

Sir William Keitli had been superseded as 
governor by Major Gordon. Franklin occa- 

* Sparks, vol. vi., pp. 287, 293. 



58 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

sionally met his old acquaintance walking the 
streets as a common citizen ; bnt the deceitful 
man seemed ashamed at seeing him, and they 
passed each other without exchanging a word. 
The 3'Oung man himself was ready, perhaps, 
to make more allo\Vance for Sir William's 
conduct, when he thought of his own neglect 
of Miss Read. 

Poor girl, she had suffered much anxiety and 
mortification, and as her friends despaired of 
ever hearing from her thoughtless admirer 
again, they had persuaded her to marry a pot- 
ter, named Rogers. He proved to be a tri- 
fling, dissipated fellow, and they soon parted. 
Rogers got into debt and ran off to the West 
Indies, where he died. 

Frmiklin was now engaged as a clerk in the 
store of Mr. Denham, the worthy Quaker mer- 
chant with whom he had come over from Lon- 
don ; and every thing went on successfully un- 
til 1727, when both of them were taken very 
sick. Mr. Denham died, and the young man 
made a narrow escape from the grave. Once 
more thrown upon the wide world, he accej^ted 
a situation with his old employer, Keimer, who 
had increased his business considerably, and 
was doing well. 



HUGH MKREDITH. 59 

Franklin found a number of raw hands in the 
office, whom he was expected to regulate and in- 
struct, and his employer had determined in his 
own mind, that wlien these had learned to do the 
work to his satisfaction, he would dismiss the 
young man, whose wages would thus be saved. 

The j^rincipal and his assistant soon quar- 
relled, and the latter left the office. 

One of our young friend's associates in 
Keimer's office was Hugh Meredith, a Welsh 
Pennsylvanian, thirty years of age, an honest, 
sensible man, but somewhat disposed to intem- 
perance. He had become much attached to 
Franklin, and when the disagreement with 
Keimer occurred, he proposed that they should 
form a partnership themselves, Meredith feel- 
in 2; sure that* his father would be willinfy to ad- 
vance money for the purpose. 

After various difficulties, which were all 
finally settled, this arrangement was made, and 
Franklin and Meredith began their career as 
printers. 

At this time there was not a good book- 
seller's shop in any of the colonies south of 
Boston ; the printers of New York and Phila- 
delphia selling only paper, almanacs, ballads, 
ind a few ordinary school-books. 



60 LIFE OF FRANKI.T.V. 

Some months before he set up in business, 
Franklin organized a sort of literary club 
among the young men of Philadelphia, called 
the Junto, which met one evening in a week 
for debating various questions in morals, pol- 
itics, and natural philosopliy. As the members 
of the club were generally fond of reading, and 
books were hard to be obtained, it was proposed 
that thev should briti^: too:ether all the volumes 
they possessed, and thus form the nucleus of a 
small librar3\ Finding the advantage of this 
little collection, Franklin recommended that a 
subscription should be opened for a public li- 
brary, — drawing up the plan and rules himself, 
and being the chief agent in its successful or- 
ganization. 

The Junto lasted many years, and was a 
means not only of improvement, but of politi- 
cal influence, as his opportunities for exercising 
it increased. 

In September, 1729, the two young printers 
purchased the Pennsylvania Gazette^ which 
had then only reached its fortieth number ; — 
and it now appeared in a new and better dress, 
and was conducted with considerable ability. 
Aside from the money which he had furnished, 
Meredith was of little service, as he was no 



A CrJARACTERISTIC ANECDOTE. 61 

compositor, a poor pressman, and seldom sober. 
Franklin, therefore, had the principal share of 
the burden to sustain. His friends rem-etted 
his connection with so thriftless a partner, but 
he tried to make the best of it. No indifferent 
work was allowed to go out of the office, and 
people soon began to discover the difference 
between the coarse, blundering way in which 
jobs were done elsewhere, and the elegance and 
correctness which distinijcuished the issues of 
the new office. The consequence was, that the 
public printing was transferred to it, and pros- 
pects began to brighten daily. 

The enterprising editor, now in his twenty- 
third year, wielded the pen witli a bold hand, 
and some remarks which he made on an excit- 
ing controversy of the day, added many to the 
list of subscribers to the Gazette. 

A characteristic anecdote has been related 
of Franklin, illustrative of his independence as 
an editor. Soon after the establishment of his 
newspaper, he found occasion to remark, with 
some degree of freedom, on the public conduct 
of one or two persons of high standing in Phil- 
adelphia. This conrse was disapproved by 
some of his patrons, who sought an opportunity 
to convey to him their views of the subject, 



62 LIFE OF FKANKLTN. 

and what tliey represented to be the opinion 
of his fi'iends. He listened patiently, and re- 
plied bj requesting that thej would favor him 
with their company at supper, and bring with 
them the other gentlemen who had expressed 
dissatisfaction. The time arrived, and the 
guests assembled. He received them cordially,* 
and listened again to their friendly reproofs of 
his editorial conduct. At length supper was 
announced ; but, when the guests had seated 
themselves around tlie table, they were sur- 
prised to see nothing before them but two pud- 
dings, made of coarse meal, called sawdust 
'puddings in the common plirase, and a stone 
pitcher filled with water. He helped them all, 
and then applied himself to his own plate, par- 
taking freely of the repast, and urging his 
friends to do the same. They taxed their po- 
liteness to the utmost, but all in vain ; their 
appetites refused obedience to the will. Per- 
ceiving their difficulty, Franklin at last arose 
and said: ^^ 3£y friends^ any one who can sub- 
sist upon sawdust pudding and water ^ as I can, 
needs no manus patronage P 

In 1730, Franklin was released from his long 
engagement with Meredith, whose father had 
been unable to advance as much as had been 



MAllKIES MISS KEAD. 63 

promised for the establishment of the young 
men in business. By this time, however, other 
friends who had observed the prudence, indus- 
try, and sobriety with which he had managed 
his affairs, came forward to aid him, and he 
began to feel himself on the high road to suc- 
cess. He had done himself some credit by the 
publication of a pamphlet, entitled " A Modest 
Inquiry into the ]N"ature and Necessity of a 
Paper Currency ;" and in tlie autumn of 1730 
he added to his happiness by marrying Miss 
Eead, who had long been dejected and miser- 
able, and for whose sufferings he knew that he 
was in a great measure accountable. 



CIIAPTEE SIXTH. 

Rewards of diligence — Standing before kings — An industrious 
wile — The first silver spoons — Novel mode of dealing with 
loungers — Poor Eichard's Almanac — Franklin's religious 
views at this stage of his career— Clinging to Presbyterian- 
ism as long as he could — The eloquent preacher who wrote 
but poorly — Becomes acquainted with the Churcii — A pew- 
holder for sixty years — Attending worship under difficulties 
— Itesumeshis studies— Visit to Boston — Last interview with 
his brother James — Clerk of the Assembly — Appointed post- 
master—A prayer-book stolen. 

JOSIAH FRANKLIN had so often repeated 
to Lis son the proverb of SoUimon, '* Seest 
thou a man dib'gent in his calling ; he shall yet 
stand before kings, he shall not stand before 
mean men," that he was naturally inclined to be 
industrious and frugal. He playfully observes 
in his autobiography, " Though I did not think 
that I should ever literally stand before kings, 
I have stood before live, and even liad the 
honor of sitting down with one, the King of 
Denmark, to dinner." 

Franklin's efforts to rise in the world would 
have been effectually defeated, had his wife 
been indisposed to aid him; but she cheerfullj 



FIRST PLATE AND CHINA. 65 

folded and stitched pamphlets, kept shop, and 
bought rags for the paper-makers, besides at- 
tending to her household duties. They em- 
ployed n*o idle ser\^ants, their table was plain 
and simple, and their furniture of the cheapest 
sort. 

The printer's breakfast consisted, for a long 
while, of bread and milk, whicli 'was eaten 
out of a twopenny earthen porringer, with a 
pewter spoon. " But mark" he says, " how 
luxury will enter families, and make a prog- 
ress, in spite of principle. Being called one 
morning to breakfast, I found it in a china 
bowl, with a spoon of silver! They had been 
bought for me without my knowledge by ray 
wife, and had cost her the enormous sum of 
three-and-twenty shillings; for which she had 
no otlier excuse or apology to make, but ijiat 
she thought her husband deserved a silver 
spoon and china bowl as well as any of his 
neighbors. This was the lirst appearance of 
plate and china in our house; which after- 
wards, in a course of years, as our wealth 
increased, augmented gradually^ to several 
hundred pounds in value." 

The following story is told of Franklin's 
mode of treating the idle persons who are dis- 



66 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

posed to lounge about the shops of their more 
industrious acquaintances. One fine morning 
when the joung printer was busy in prepar- 
ing his newspaper for the press, a lazy fellow 
stepped into the store, and spent an hour or 
more looking over the books, and taking one 
in his hand, asked the shop-boy the price. 

"One dollar," was the answer. "One dol- 
lar," said the lounger, " can't you take less 
than that?" "E"o, sir; one dollar is the 
price." 

Another hour had nearly passed, when the 
lounger asked, "Is Mr. Franklin at home?'' 
"Yes, he is in the printing-ofiice." " I want 
to see him," said the lounger. 

The shop-boy immediately informed Mr. 
Franklin that a gentleman was in the store 
waking to see him. Franklin was soon behind 
the counter, when the lounger, with book in 
hand, addressed him thus : 

" Mr. Franklin, what is the lowest you can 
take for this book ?" 

" One dollar and a quarter," was the ready 
answer. 

" One dollar and a quarter ! Why your 
young man asked only a dollar." 

" True," said Franklin ; " and I could better 



GENERAL SCOTt's ANECDOTES. 67 

afford to have taken a dollar then, than to 
have been taken out of the office." 

The lounger seemed surprised, and wishing 
to end the parley of his own making, he said, 

" Come, Mr. Fi'anklin, tell me what is the 
lowest you can take for it." 

" One dollar and a half." 

" A. dollar and a half! Why you offered it 
yourself for a dollar and a quarter." 

" Yes," said Franklin ; " and I had better 
have taken that price then, than a dollar and 
a half now." 

The lounger paid down the price, and went 
about his business — if he had any — and Frank- 
lin returned into the printing-office.* 

In 1732, Franklin first published his popu- 

* " When I first visited Philadelphia" remarks General 
Scott, in a communication to the writer, " almost half a century 
ago, many elderly people there abounded in unedited anecdotes 
of Dr. Franklin. I believe I can at this moment only recall 
two ot' any characteristic merit. 

" Without any journeyman, apprentice, or shop-boy, tho-.igh 
he kept a few shelves of books and stationery for sale, he 
()rought down a form of types into the store, at which he work- 
ed in the absence of customers ; while, to save time and breath, 
he wrote on the outer door, ' Walk in without knocking P a con- 
trivance supposed to be original with him. While thus employ- 
ed, and in the act of setting up the word «o, an Ephraim 
Broadbrim, who, drawling, made long pauses between words 
and syllables, came in and inquired, ' Does friend Ow-en live 



68 iJFK OF FHANJKIJN. 

hir almanac, under the name of Richard 
Saunders^ which was continued for about. 
twentj-five years, and commonly called " Pcsor 
Richard's Almanac." He endeavored to make 
it both entertaining and useful, and it came to 
be in such demand, that he often sold ten 
thousand copies annually, and derived consid- 
erable profit from it. As the almanac circu- 
lated among many families who had few 
books, he took care to fill all the little spaces 
between the remarkable days of the calendar, 
with practical sentences, and instructive hints 
in matters of morality and virtue. 

And this reminds us to say something of 
Franklin's religious opinions, at this stage of 
his history. We mentioned before, the early 
dislike and abhorrence which he cherished for 
the Puritan system, in which he had been 
trained itp, and by the time he was fifteen, as 
he honestly confesses, he had become a thor- 
ougli Deist. It is awful to think of a young 
man occupying such a position as this. 



here?' Frauklin replied, with a pause between the letters, 
'N-o!' 

"During his residence in France, Dr. Franklin remarked, on a 
certain occasion, that ' In making a fortune, enough is just a 
little more than one has 1' " 



STRIVING AFTKR PKRFECTTONr. 69 

Further reading and reflection convinced 
liim of his error, and although he still shrunk 
back from adopting such dogmas as the eter- 
nal decrees of God, election, and reprobation, 
lie lent his influence to further the cause of 
Presbyterianism in Philadelphia, out of re- 
sjject to his parents, and cheerfully paid his 
yearly quota towards the preacher's support. 
He was not then a regular attendant upon 
])ublicw^orship, having been provoked that the 
discourses which he heard, when lie did go, 
were too controversial, and showing a greater 
anxiety to make people bigoted Presbyterians 
than good citizens. 

Franklin about this time conceived the bold 
idea of arriving at moral perfection, — and lay- 
ing down for himself a set of rigid rules which 
he determined strictly to observe. The exper- 
iment ended as might be supposed. Without 
the help of God's grace, sought for in prayei', 
and in the diligent use of other appointed 
means, all our efforts at right doing will prove 
ineffectual and vain. In 1734, a young Pres- 
byterian preacher arrived in Philadelphia, 
who delivered with a good voice and appar- 
ently extempore, most excellent discourses, 
and drew quite a crowd after him. Some of 



70 LIFE OF FRANKLTN. 

the old-fashioned Presbyterians, however, pro- 
nounced him to be unsound in doctrine, and 
began .to oppose him. Franklin admired the 
preacher, because he spent more time in teach- 
ing the need of good works, than in idle dis- 
putings about the decrees of God ; and warm- 
ly espoused his cause. A controversy sprang up, 
and the divine who could preach so eloquent- 
ly, proved to be a very poor writer. Indeed, 
he wielded the pen so awkwardly, that he was 
obliged to apply to Franklin to prepare his 
answers for him. In the midst of all this 
excitement, it was discovered that the elegant 
preacher stole his sermons from printed books, 
and his friends at once abandoned him to his 
fate. Franklin ceased to attend upon the 
Presbyterian services, from this time forward, 
although he continued, for some years, his 
subscription for the support of them. 

Circumstances now made him acquainted, 
to some extent, with the peculiarities and prac- 
tices of the Church, which he found much 
more to his taste. His wife's family were 
Episcopalians, and attendants at old Christ 
Church."^ 

* " As I went wp, one Sunday morninu:, to worship in the 
venerable Christ Church, around which cluster so many inter- 



CHKIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA. 71 

For sixty 5^ears FraHklin himself owned a 
pew there, and during part of the time he was 
a member of the vestry. It is true he enjoyed 
a poor opportunity for going to church very 
often in Philadelphia for the last thirty-three 



esting associations of the past, I felt that it was a twofold sanc- 
tuary — a sanctuary of religion and of patriotism. Tlie exterior 
is the same that it was when the later colonial governors and 
officers of state, when Washington and Franklin, when Con- 
gress and the officers of the Continental army went there to 
worship." — Zossing^s Field Book of the Revolution^ vol. ii., p. 248. 

The first place of worship belonging to the Churcli of Eng- 
land, was built in Philadelphia, in 1695, of which the Eev. Mr. 
Clayton was mmister. In 1700, the Eev. Evan Evans came 
over, and was very successful iu gathering a congregation. Tlie 
first edifice used by the congregation of Christ Chnrcli was 
built under his direction. — See Dorrs History of Christ Churchy 
Philadelphia. Mr. Evans remained in the colony eighteen 
years, having Mr. Thomas as his assistant in Christ Church, his 
own labors being extended to the neighboring settlements. 

William HI. allowed £50 a year to the clergyman at Christ 
Church, and £30 to the schoolmaster, and Queen Anne pre- 
sented the communion plate which is still in use in the parish. 
After the retirement of Mr. Evans, Christ Church was served 
by Talbot and others, until the arrival from England, in 1719, 
of John Vicary, who came out by appointment of Dr. Eobin- 
son, then Bishop of London. The feeble health of the new 
minister soon ended in his death, and then caine the Eev. John 
Urmston, once a missionary in North Carolina, with whom the 
vestry of Christ Church had a difficulty, which led to his dis- 
missal at the close of a year. Mr. Walter (see Lives of White 
and Seabury) was employed for a while until he refused to ac- 
knowledge the authority of King George, when he was driven 



72 LIFK OF FRANKLIN. 

years of his life, more than three-fourths of 
that time being spent in foreign lands, as we 
shall have occasion to mention in another place. 
When he returned from France in 1785, age 
and infirmities weighed so heavily upon him, 
tliat he was for the most part confined to his 
]iouse. But we are assured by one of his de- 
scendants, that even during this distressing 
period, although a sufferer from disease, lie 
used to be carried in a sedan chair to Christ 
Church, and w^as let out by the bearers at the 
door of his pew. Surely, at such an age, with 
more than one foot already in the grave, no man 
could be accused of selfish and unworthy mo- 



from the British territories. The Rev. Archibald Cumiuings 
was appointed minister of Christ Church in 1726, hy Bishop 
Gibson of London, and held his office for above fourteen years. 
Tl)e only drawback to the general acceptance which attended 
his ministry, was a misunderstanding between him and Eicliard 
Peters, an assistant minister. Peters resigned, but remained in 
Philadelphia, doing good service for the Ciuirch, until after the 
death of Dr. Jeiiney, the successor of Cnmmings. He was 
chosen by -the vestry to the rectorship of the united parishes 
of Christ Church and St. Peters; this was in 1762. Dr. Peters 
continued to occupy this position until 1775, when age and in- 
firmities led him to resign. He was succeeded by the Rev. 
Jacob Duche, famous for having offered the first prayer in Con- 
gress. For the history of the parish from this point, we refer 
our readers to Dr. Dorr's History, and to the " Life of Bishop 
Wliite," in this series. 



STUDIKS FRENCH AND ITALIAN. 73 

tives in attempting to discharge his religious 
duties. But we are running far in advance of 
the true order of events, and must hasten to ri> 



'5 

turn. 



Although so actively engaged in business, 
Franklin found time, after his twenty-seventh 
yeai*, to make himself a pretty good French 
and Italian scholar; and he followed this up 
with S|)anish, and a review of the Latin, of 
which he had learned the rudiments in his 
boyhood. 

After an absence of ten years he returned to 
Boston once more, to visit his relations, and, 
on his way back to Philadelphia, called at 
]S"ewport to see his brother James. All former 
differences were forgotten, and their meeting 
was cordial and affectionate. 

James was in feeble health, and he request- 
ed his brother, in case of his death, which 
Beemed near at hand, that he would take home 
his son, a lad of ten years, and bring him up 
as a printer. This was accordingly done, and 
when the young man had learned the trade, 
his uncle set him up in business, thus making 
ample amends to James for having run off 
from him before the end of his apprenticeship. 

In 17'3f), Franklin was chosen clerk of the 



74 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

General Assembly, which secured for him the 
printing of the votes, laws, paper-money, and 
other profitable jobs for the public. The fol- 
lowing year Colonel Spotswood, late governor 
of Virginia, and then postmaster-general, being 
dissatisfied with the conduct of his deputy at 
Philadelphia, offered the position to the thriving 
printer. Franklin accepted it, and although 
the salary was small, it afforded other advan- 
tages which well repaid him for the additional 
labor. The following advertisement indicates 
nearly the time w^hen he assumed the duties 
of postmaster : 

" October ^'Ith, 1737. — l^otice is hereby 
given, that the post-office of Philadelphia is 
now kept at B. Franklin's, in Market-street; 
and that Henry Pratt is appointed Kiding- 
master for all the stages between Philadelphia 
and JSTewport in Yirginia, who sets out about 
the beginning of each month, and returns in 
twenty-four days ; by whom gentlemen, mer- 
chants, and others, may have their letters care- 
fully conveyed, and business faithfully trans- 
acted, he having given good security for the 
same to the Honorable Colonel Spotswood, 
Postmaster-general of all his Majesty's domin- 
ions in America." 



TiiK p:ighth commandment. To 

Six years afterwards some improvement had 
taken place in the transmission of the mail. 
In an advertisement dated April 14th, 1743, 
he says, " After this week, the northern post 
will set out for New York on Thursdays at 
three o'clock in the afternoon till Christmas. 
The southern post sets out next Monday at 
eight o'clock for Annapolis, and continues go- 
ing every fortnight during the summer season." 
In winter, the post between Philadelphia" and 
'New York, went once a fortnight. 

The following characteristic advertisement 
is contained in the Pennsylvania Gazette for 
June 23, 1737. " Taken out of a pew in the 
Church, some months since, a Common Prayer 
Book, bound in red gilt, and lettered D. F. 
(Deborah Franklin) on each cover. The per- 
son who took it is desired to open it and read 
the eighth Commandment, and afterwards re- 
turn it into the same pew again ; upon which 
no further notice will be taken." 



CHAPTER SEYENTH. 

Whitefield visits Philadelphia — The short-sighted policy of that 
age of spiritual lethargy — Effects of Whitefield's eloquence — 
His orphan house — Franklin's intercourse with him — " Thee 
seems to be out of thy right senses" — Preaching to vast mul- 
titudes — Testing the powers of Whitefield's voice — Advan- 
tage enjoyed by itinerant preachers — Franklin publishes 
Whitefield's works — Their last meeting — Intex'esting lettei- — 
Motives with which benefits should be conferred — Faith and 
good works — Example of our blessed Lord. 

IX 1739, the Rev. George Whiteiield, that 
eccentric Episcopal clergyman whose name 
is so familiar to every one, arrived in Phihv 
delphia from Ireland. Had he lived in our 
time, the Chnrcli would gladly have availed 
herself of his burning eloquence and untiring 
zeal, to carry the standard of the Cross through 
the length and breadth of the land ; but, un- 
fortunately, it was a season of inactivity and 
spiritual lethargy, and the devoted man was 
treated with neglect by those who should have 
welcomed and encouraged him in his work. 

Whitefield was shut out from the churches, 
and obliged to preach under the open canopy 
of heaven. This very opposition, however, 



GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 77 

only increased his popularit}^, and thousands 
flocked to hear the words of salvation from 
his lips. Franklin became one of his warm- 
est admirers, and often entertained him as a 
guest. 

The effect of Whitefield's preaching was 
w^onderful, and religion seemed to become the 
one absorbing subject w^ith the people. Dur- 
ing his sojourn in Philadelphia, a person could 
hardlj walk along the streets, in an evening, 
without hearing the sound of sacred melody 
bursting forth from houses at every step. 

The establishment of an Orphan House in 
Georgia, was at this time the preacher's favor- 
ite project. Franklin differed with him as to 
the best mode of erecting the necessary build- 
ings, and, in consequence of his advice being 
neglected, he declined contributing towards 
the object. The honest printer thus describes 
the way in which his determination w^as 
changed : 

" I happened soon after, to attend one of 
his sermons, in the course of which I perceived 
he intended to finish with a collection, and 1 
silently resolved he should get nothing from 
me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper 
money, three of four silver dollars, and five 



78 LIKE OF FKANKI.IX. 

pistoles in gold. As lie proceeded, I began to 
soften, and concluded to give the copper. An- 
other stroke of his oratory made me ashamed 
of that, and determined me to give the silver ; 
and he finished so admirably, that I emptied 
my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, 
gold and all. At this sermon there was also 
one of onr club, who, being of my sentiments 
respecting the building in Georgia, and sus- 
pecting a collection might be intended, had by 
precaution emptied his pockets before he came 
from home. Towards the conclusion of the 
discourse, however, he felt a strong inclination 
to give, and applied to a neighbor who stood 
near him, to lend him some money for the 
purpose. The request w^as fortunately made 
to perhaps the only man in the company who 
had the firmness not to be afifected by the 
preacher. His answer was, ' At any other 
time, friend Hopkinson, I would lend to thee 
freely ; but not now, for thee seems to be out 
of thy right senses.' " 

We must give one more passage from Frank- 
lin's autobiography, in regard to Whitefi eld's 
eloquence : 

" He had a loud and clear voice, and articu- 
lated his words so perfectly, that he might be 



POAVKi: OF WHITEFIELDS VOICK. ( 1' 

heard and understood at a great distance ; es- 
pecially as his auditors observed the most per- 
fect silence. He preached one evening from 
the top of the court-house steps, which are in 
the middle of Market- street, and on the west 
side of Second-street, which crosses it at right 
angles. Both streets were filled with his hear- 
ers to a considerable distance. Being among 
the hindmost in Market- street, I had the curi- 
osity to learn how far he could be heard, by 
retiring backwards down the street towards 
the river, and I found his voice distinct till I 
came near Front- street, when some noise in 
that street obscured it. Imagining then a sem- 
icircle, of which my distance should be the 
radius, and that it was filled with auditors, to 
each of whom 1 allowed two square feet, I 
computed that he might well be heard by 
more than thirty thousand. This reconciled 
me to the newspaper accounts of his having 
preached to twenty-five thousand people in 
the fields, and to the history of generals lia- 
ranguing w^hole armies, of which I had some- 
times doubted. 

" By hearing him often, I came to distin- 
guish easily between sermons newly composed, 
and those which he had often preached in the 



80 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

course of his travels. His delivery of the lat- 
ter was so improved by frequent repetition, 
that every accent, every emphasis, every mod- 
ulation of voice, was so perfectly well turned 
and well placed, that, without being interested 
in the subject, one could not help being pleased 
with the discourse; a pleasure of much the 
same kind w^ith that received from an excellent 
piece of music. This is an advantage itinerant 
preachers have over those who are stationary, 
as the latter cannot well improve their delivery 
of a sermon by so many rehearsals." 

Franklin was the first publisher of White- 
field's writings, which were issued in May, 
ITiO. They always remained devoted friends. 
The last time they met was in London, in 1766. 
Whitefield died at ]^ewburyport, Massachu- 
setts, four years afterwards. His friend out- 
lived him twenty years. We shall be par- 
doned for inserting an interesting letter from 
the philosopher to the eloquent divine: 

Philadelphia, June 6, 1753. 

Sir : — I received your kind letter of the 2d 

instant, and am glad to hear that you increase 

in strength ; I hope you will continue mending, 

till vou recover vour former health and firm- 



LETTER TO WHITEFIELD. 81 

iiess. Let me know whether you still use the 
cold bath, and what effect it has. 

As to the kindness you mention, I wish it 
could have been of more service to you. But 
if it had, the only thanks I should desire is, 
that you would always be equally ready to 
serve any other person that may need your 
assistance, and so let good offices go round ; 
for mankind are .all of a family. 

For my own part, when I am employed in 
serving others, I do not look upon myself as 
conferring favors, but as paying debts. In my 
travels, and since my settlement, I have re- 
ceived much kindness from men, to whom 1 
shall never have any opportunity of making 
the least direct return ; and numberless mer- 
cies from God, who is infinitely above being 
benefited by our services. Those kindnesses 
from men, I can therefore only return on their 
fellow-men ; and I can only show my gratitude 
for these mercies from God, by a readiness to 
help his other children and my brethren. For 
I do not think that thanks and compliments, 
though repeated weekly, can discharge our real 
obligations to each other, and much less those 
to our Creator. Yon will see in this my notion 
of good works, that I am far from expecting to 



82 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

merit heaven by them. By heaven we under- 
stand a state of happiness, infinite in degree, 
and eternal in duration. I can do nothing to 
deserve such rewards. He that, for giving a 
draught of water to a thirsty person, should 
expect to be paid with a good plantation, 
would be modest in his demands, compared 
with those who think they deserve heaven for 
the little good they do on earth. Even the 
mixed, imperfect pleasures we enjoy in this 
world, are rather from God's goodness than 
our merit : how much more such happiness of 
heaven ! For my part, I have not the vanity 
to think I deserve it, the folly to expect it, nor 
the ambition to desire it ; but content myself 
in submitting to the will and disposal of that 
God who made me, Avho has hitherto preserved 
and blessed me, and in whose fatherly good- 
ness I may well confide, that he will never 
make me miserable ;*• and that even the afflic- 
tions I may at any time suffer shall tend to 
my benefit. 

The faith you mention has certainly its use 
in the world. I do not desire to see it dimin- 
ished, nor would I endeavor to lessen it in any 
man. But I w4sh it were more productive of 
good works than I have generally seen it ; I 



rOKKS OF THE WUKD. 83 

mean real good works ; works of kindness, 
cliaritj, mercy, and public spirit, not holiday- 
keeping, sermon-reading or hearing ; perform- 
ing church ceremonies, or making long praj' ers, 
filled with flatteries and compliments, despised 
even by wise men, and much less capable of 
pleasing the Deity. The worship of God is a 
duty ; the hearing and reading of sermons may 
be useful ; but if men rest in hearing and pray- 
ing, as too many do, it is as if a tree should 
value itself on being watered and putting forth 
leaves, though it never produced any fruit. 

Your great Master thought much less of 
these outward appearances and professions 
than many of his modern disciples. He pre- 
ferred the doers of the word to the mere hearers ; 
the son that seemingly refused to obey his 
father, and yet performed his commands ; to 
him that professed his readiness, but neglected 
the work ; the heretical but charitable Sa- 
maritan, to the uncharitable though orthodox 
priest and sanctified Levite ; and those who 
gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, 
raiment to the naked, entertainment to the 
stranger, and relief to the sick, though they 
never heard of his name, he declares shall in 
the last day be accepted ; when those who cry 



84 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

Loj-d ! Lord ! who value themselves in)on their 
faith, tlioiigh great enough to perform miracles, 
but have neglected good works, shall be re- 
jected. He professed that be came not to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance ; which 
implied his modest opinion, that there were 
some in his time so good, that they need not 
hear even him for improvement ; but now-a- 
days we have scarce a little parson, that does 
not think it the duty of every man within his 
reach, to sit under his petty ministrations ; and 
that whoever omits them offends God. 

I wish to such more humility, and to you 
health and happiness, being your friend and 

servant, 

B. Franklin. 



CHAPTER EIGHTH. 

Prosperity— Franklin's efforts for the public good— Militia sys- 
tem— Education— Public fast-day — The Franklin stove — 
Pliilosophical studies begun- Dragged into the public service 
again — Establishment of the Pennsylvania Hospital — Improv- 
ing the streets of Philadelphia— Changes in the general post- 
office department— Honors conferred— Curious experiments 
in electricity — Phenomena of thunder-gusts — Franklin's dis- 
coveries carry his name to other lands. 

WE have now followed Franklin's fortunes 
to his fortieth year. Business had gone 
on prosperously with him, and he had experi- 
enced the truth of the observation, that after 
getting the first hundred pounds, it is more 
easy to obtain the second. Money itself being 
of a prolific nature. 

Upon the whole, he was well satisfied that 
he had established himself in Pennsylvania, 
but there were some things i^the province 
which he regretted, and sought to remedy. 

These were the neglect of education, and 
the want of any militia system, — or other ade- 
quate means of defence. 

There must always be a leading spirit to in- 



86 LIFE OF FRANKLTN. 

angnrate reformations and improvements, — 
and such was the position which Franklin 
occupied. As Great Britain and Spain were 
then at war, and the latter had secured the aid 
of France, the EngHsh colonies in North 
America were in an exposed condition. 

Governor Thomas had done his best to per- 
suade the Quaker Assembly to pass a militia 
law for the better protection of Pennsylvania, 
but no steps were taken in the matter. Frank- 
lin now wrote a pamphlet, entitled " Plain 
Truth," setting forth the importance of the 
measures, and" promising in a few days to 
propose an instrument of association, for the 
sicrnatures of those who were willinoj to unite 
for the common defence. A large public meet- 
ing was held, which Franklin addressed* with 
so much ability and earnestness, that twelve 
hundred names were obtained before its ad- 
journment ; and other copies of the document 
being scattered through the country, the num- 



* Mr. Jefferson said, that he had been in deliberative bodies 
with General Washington and Dr. Franklin, and that he had 
never heard either of them make a speech more than fifteen 
minntes long, and then always directly to the point. lie adds, 
that there were no members who possessed more influence, or 
who were listened to w'ith more profound attention. 



ELECTED COLONEL. 87 

ber soon amounted to more than ten thousand. 
All these furnislied themselves with arms, or- 
ganized companies, elected officers, and met 
every week to be instructed in military disci- 
pline. The women presented the regiments 
with handsome silk colors, the devices and 
mottoes for which onr indefatigable printer 
supplied. The Philadelphia companies chose 
him for their colonel, but he modestly declined, 
and recommended Mr. Lawrence for tlie sta- 
tion, who was appointed accordingly. 

Franklin next proposed that a battery 
should be erected below the town, which w^as 
speedily done. His activity in these opera- 
tions so gratified the governor and council, 
that they consulted "with him on all important 
occasions. He recommended that a public 
fast-day should be appointed, and the blessiug 
of Heaven devoutly invc)ked. This was some- 
thing unheard of before in Pennsylvania, and 
the proposal was immediatel}^ adopted, Frank- 
lin drawing up the proclamaticm, which was 
published in English and German, and circu- 
lated throughout the province. 

It was supposed by some that his activity in 
these affairs would give such offence to the 
peace-loving Quakers, that they might defeat 



88 LIFE OF FRANKIJN. 

his election to the clerkship of the General 
Assembly, in which body they formed a large 
majority. But these apprehensions proved to 
be ill-founded, and it appeared that while the 
Friends were opposed from principle to offen- 
sive war, they were decidedly in favor of the 
defensive. 

To show the versatility of Franklin's mind, 
Ave should mention that in 1741 he est-ablish- 
ed the General Magazine and Historical 
Chronicle^ and in the following year invented 
the stove which still bears his name."^ For 
the latter he refused a patent, on the principle 
that such discoveries ought to be made subser- 
vient to the common good of mankind. Peace 
having been concluded, his thoughts were 
turned again to the cause of education, and by 
patient effort he linally succeeded in the es- 
tablishment of an academy, which grew, in 
course of time, into the University of Pennsyl- 
vania. 

In ITttS, he threw oif many of the cares and 
vexations of business, by taking into partner- 
ship Mr. David Hall, an industrious and hon- 



* A description of tliis wood-saving invention is given in 
the Encyclopaedia Aincriouiia, vol. v., p. 126. 



THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 89 

est man, who had been working for him sever- 
al years, thus securing time, as he fundly 
lioped, for the prosecution of philosophical 
studies. With this view he had purchased 
quite an extensive apparatus, and began a 
series of interesting experiments. 

He had, however, shown himself too useful 
to the public to be allowed to continue long 
in retirement, and he was soon appointed jus- 
tice of the peace, and then alderman, and 
next a member of the General Assembly. 
His election to the last post of honor was con- 
tinued every year for ten years, without his 
ever soliciting a vote, or expressing any desire 
for the office. 

On taking his seat in the House^ he was 
soon appointed clerk. 

In 1750, when a treaty was to be held with 
the Indians at Carlisle, Franklin and Mr. 
Norris were appointed commissioners to go 
and attend to the business. Indeed, it is cu- 
rious to observe what a wonderful influence 
the successful printer had secured, and how all 
parties looked to him for assistance or advice. 
The following year, when Dr. Thomas Bond, 
a benevolent and excellent man, conceived the 
i«!(a of establishing a hospital in Philadelphia 

8* 



90 LIFIO OF FRANKLIN. 

for the benefit of poor sick persons, the propo- 
sal was so much of a novelty in America, that 
at first he met with little enconragement. On 
all sides, he was asked by those wliom lie 
solicited to snbscribe, " Have yon consnlted 
Franklin on this bnsiness? And what does 
he think of it?" 

He accordingly laid his plans before Frank- 
lin, who warmly approved of them ; snbscribed 
liberally himself; wrote several newspaper ar- 
ticles on the snbject; indnced the Assembly to 
aid the nnder taking by an appropriation of 
numey ; and did not cease to exert himself 
nntil the institution was firmly establisbed. 
Years afterwards, while sojourning in Europe, 
if he gleaned any useful hints, he was sure to 
communicate them to the managers of the 
Pennsylvania Hospital. 

Dr. Fi-anklin thus describes his successful 
efiforts to improve the condition of the sti-eets 
of Philadelphia : " Our city, though laid out 
w^ith a beautiful regularity, the streets large, 
straight, and crossing each other at right angles, 
had the disgrace of sufi'ering those streets to 
remain long nnpaved, and in wet weather the 
wheels of heavy carriages ploughed them into 
a quagmire, so that it was ditl^cult to cross 



EFFORTS FOR CLKAN STRKETS. 91 

them ; and in dry weather the dust was offen- 
sive. I had lived near what was called the 
Jersev ^Market, and saw with pain the inhabit- 
ants wading in mud, while purchasing their 
provisions. A strip of ground down the mid- 
dle of that market was at length paved with 
brick, so that, being once in the market, they 
had firm footing ; but were often over shoes in 
dirt to get there. By talking and writing on 
the subject, 1 was at length instrumental in 
getting the street paved with stone betw^een 
the marlvct and the brick foot-pavement, that 
was on the side next to the houses. This, for 
some time, gave an easy access to the market 
dry-shod ; but, the rest of the street not being 
paved, whenever a carriage came out of the 
mud upon this pavement, it shook off and left 
its dirt upon it, and it was soon covered with 
mire, which w^as not removed, the city as yet 
having no scavengers. 

"After some inquiry, I found a poor, indus- 
trious man, who was willing to undertake keep- 
ing the pavement clean, by sw^eeping it twice a 
week, carrying off the dirt from before all the 
neighbors' doors, for the sum of sixpence per 
month, to be paid by each house. T then wrote 
and printed a paper, setting forth the ad van- 



92 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

tages to the neighborliood that might be ob- 
tained from this small expense ; the greater 
ease in keeping our houses clean, so much dirt 
not being brought in by people's feet ; the ben- 
efit to the shops by more custom, as buyers 
could more easily get at them ; and by not 
having in windy weather the dust blown in 
upon their goods, e%c., &c. I sent one of these 
papers to each house, and in a day or two went 
round to see who would subscribe an agreement 
to pay these sixpences ; it was unanimously 
signed, and for a time well executed. All the 
inhabitants of the city were delighted with the 
cleanliness of the pavement that surrounded 
the market, it being a convenience to all, and 
this raised a general desire to have all the 
streets paved ; and made the people more will- 
ing to submit to a tax for that purpose." 

After this, Franklin drew up a bill for paving 
the eity, and brought it into the General As- 
sembly. This was passed, with some modifi- 
cation, during his absence from the countrv, in 
1757. 

Upon the death of the postmaster-general of 
America, in 1753, Benjamin Franklin and Wil- 
liam Hunter were appointed by the British gov- 
ernment to succeed him in the important duties 



MADE POSTMA&TEK-GKNERAL. 93 

of this office. Hitherto, the American post-office 
had never paid any thing to that of the mother 
country. The new agents were to have bix 
hundred pounds a year between them, if that 
sum could be made out of the office. In order 
to do this, some changes were needed, and great 
skill in the management of its affairs was in- 
dispensable to insure its success ; but like every 
thing else which Franklin undertook, the postal 
arrangenjent proved to be quite satisfactory. 
The business of the office obliged him to make 
a journey to i^ew England, during the year 
1753, when Cambridge and Yale colleges, both 
of their own accord, conferred upon him tlie 
honorary degree of Master of Arts. This was 
done in consideration of his improvements and 
discoveries in the electric branch of natural 
philosophy. These disco veiies are entitled to 
a more particular notice. 

Being at Boston in 1746, he met wdth Dr. 
Spence, then lately arrived from Scotland, 
whom he saw perform some curious experi- 
ments. This stimulated him to attempt others 
for himself, and he communicated the result of 
his observations to Mr. Collinson, of London, a 
member of the Eoyal Society. ''In the year 
1749, he iirst suggested his idea of explaining 



94 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

the phenomena of tliunder-gusts, and of the 
aurora horealis^ upon electrical principles. Pie 
points out many particulars in which lightning 
and electricity agree; and he adduces many 
facts, and reas(mings from facts, in support of 
his positions. 

" In the same year he conceived the astonish- 
ingly bold and grand idea of ascertaining the 
truth of his doctrine by actually drawing do.wn 
the lightning, by means of sharp-pointed iron 
rods, raised into the region of the clouds. Even 
in this uncertain state, his passion to be useful 
to mankind displayed itself in a powerful man- 
ner. Admitting the identity of electricity and 
lightning, and knowing the power of points in 
repelling bodies cliarged with electricity, and 
in conducting their tire silently and impercept- 
ibly, he suggested the idea of securing houses, 
ships, &c., from being damaged by lightning, 
by erecting pointed rods, that should rise some 
feet above the most elevated part, and descend 
some feet into the ground or the water. The 
effect of these, he concluded, would be eitlier 
to prevent a stroke by i-epelling the cloud be- 
yond the striking distance, or by drawing off 
the electrical tire which it contained : or if they 
could not effect this, they would at least con- 



KLKC'IUICAL kxi'p:kimknts. 95 

duct the t4ectric matter to the earth, without 
any iujurj to the building. It was not until 
the summer of 1752, that he was enabled to 
complete his grand and unparalleled discoveiy 
by experiment. The plan which he had origi- 
nally proposed, was to erect, on some high 
tower or other elevated place, a sentry-box, 
from which should rise a pointed iron rod, 
insulated by being fixed in a cake of resin. 
Electrified clouds passing over this, would, he 
conceived, impart to it a portion of their 
electricity, which would be rendered evident 
to the senses by sparks being emitted, when a 
key, the knuckle, or other conductor was pre- 
sented to it. 

'' Philadelphia at this time afforded no op- 
portunity of trying an experiment of this kind. 
While Franklin was waiting for the erection 
of a spire, it occurred to him that he might 
have more ready access to the region of clouds 
by means of a common kite. He prepared one 
by fastening two cross sticks to a silk handker- 
chief, which would not suffer so much from the 
rain as paper. To the upright stick was affixed 
an iron point. The string was, as usual, of 
hemp, except the lower end, wdiicli was silk. 
Where the hempen string terminated, a key 



96 IJFK OF FKANKLIX. 

was fastened. With tliis apparatus, on the ap- 
pearance of a thnncler-gust approaching, he 
went out into the commons, accompanied by 
his son, to whom alone he communicated his 
intentions, well knowing the ridicule which, 
too generally for the interest of science, awaits 
unsuccessful experiments in philosophy. He 
placed himself under a shed, to avoid the rain ; 
his kite was raised, a thunder-cloud passed over 
it, no sign of electricity appeared. He almost 
despaired of success, when suddenly he observed 
the loose fibres of his string to move towards 
an erect position. He now presented his 
knuckle to the key, and received a strong spark. 
How exquisite must his sensations have been 
at tliis moment ! On this experiment depended 
the fate of his theory. If he succeeded, his 
name would rank higli among those who had 
improved science ; if he failed, he must inev- 
itably be subjected to the derision of mankind, 
or, what is worse, their pity, as a well-mean- 
ing man, but a weak, silly projector. 

"The anxiety, with which he looked for the 
result of his experiment, may be easily con- 
ceived. Doubts and despair had begun to 
prevail, when the fact was ascertained, in so 
clear a manner, that even the most incredulous 



THE CELEBRATED BUFFON. 97 

could no longer withhold their assent. Re- 
peated sparks were drawn from the key, a 
v\i\\ was charged, a shock given, and all the 
experiments made which are usually perform- 
ed witli electricity. About a month before 
this period, some ingenious Frenchman had 
completed the discovery in the manner origi- 
nally proposed by Dr. Franklin. 

" The letters which he sent to Mr. Collinson, 
it is said, were refused a place in the Transac- 
tions of the Koyal Society of London. How- 
ever this may be, Collinson published them in 
a separate volume, under the title of ' New 
Experiments and Observations on Electricity, 
made at Philadelphia, in America.' They 
were read with avidity, and soon translated 
into diiFerent languages. A very incorrect 
French translation fell into the hands of the 
celebrated Buffon, who, notwithstanding the 
disadvantages under which the work labored, 
was much pleased with it, and repeated the 
experiments with success. He prevailed on 
his friend, M. Dalibard, to give his country- 
men a more correct translation of the works 
of the American electrician. This contributed 
much towards spreading a knowledge of 
Franklin's principles in France. 



98 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

"The king, Louis tlie Fifteenth, hearing of 
these experiments, expressed a wish to be a 
spectator of them. A course of experiments 
was given at the seat of the Due d'Ayen, at 
St. Germain, by M. de Lor. The applauses 
which the king bestowed upon Franklin, ex- 
cited in Buifon, Dalibard, and De Lor, an 
earnest desire of ascertaining the trutli of his 
theory of thunder-gusts. BufFon erected his 
apparatus on the tower of Montbur, M. Dali- 
bard at Marly-la- ville, and De Lor at his house 
in the Estrapade at Paris, some of the highest 
ground in that capitaL Dalibard's machine 
iirst showed signs of electricity. On the 10th 
of May, 1752, a thunder-cloud passed over it 
in the absence of M. Dalibard, and a number 
of sparks were draAvn from it by Coiffier, a 
joiner, with whom Dalibard had left directions 
how to proceed, and by M. Ranlet, the prior 
of Marly-la-ville. An account of this experi- 
ment was given to the Royal Academy of 
Sciences, by M. Dalibard, in a memoir dated 
May 13, 1752. 

''On the 18th of May, M. de Lor proved 
equally successful with the apparatus erected 
at his own honse. These philosophers soon ex- 
cited those of other parts of Europe to repeat 



.IKALOUSY AND DKTRACTION. 99 

the experiment; among whom, none signal- 
ized tliera selves more than Father Beccaria of 
Turin, to whose observations, science is much 
indebted. Even the cold regions of Eussia 
were penetrated bj the ardor for discovery. 
Professor Kichmann bade fair to add much to 
the stock of knowledge on this subject, when 
an unfortunate flash from his conductor put a 
period to his existence. The friends of science 
will long remember with regret, the amiable 
martyr to electricity. 

" By these experiments, Franklin's theory 
was established in the most convincing man- 
ner. When the truth of it could no longer l)e 
doubted, envy and vanity endeavored to de- 
tract from its merit. That an American, an 
inhabitant of the obscure city of Philadelphia, 
the name of which was hardly known, should 
be able to make discoveries and to frame 
theories which had escaped the notice of the 
enlightened philosophers of Europe, was too 
mortifying to be admitted. He must certain- 
ly have taken the idea from some cme else. 
An American, a being of an inferior order, 
make discoveries ? Impossible ! It w^as said 
that the Abbe Nollet, 1748, had suggested the 
idea of the similarity of lightning and electrici- 



100 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

ty in his 'Legons de Physique.' It is true 
that the abbe mentions the idea; but he 
throws it out as a bare conjecture, and pro- 
poses no mode of ascertaining the truth of it. 
He himself acknowledges that Franklin first 
entertained the bold thought of bringing light- 
ning from the heavens by means of pointed 
rods fixed in the air. 

" The similarity of lightning and electricity 
is so strong, that we need not be surprised at 
notice being taken of it, as soon as electrical 
phenomena became familiar. We find it men- 
tioned by Dr. Wull and Mr. Grey, while the 
science was in its infancy. But the honor of 
forming a regular theory of thunder-gusts, of 
suggesting a mode of determining the truth of 
it by experiments, and of putting these exper- 
iments in practice, and thus establishing the 
theory upon a firm and solid basis, is incon- 
testably due to Franklin. Dalibard, who 
made the first experiments in France, says 
that he only followed the track which Frank- 
lin had pointed out." * 

* Franklin's Works, vol. v., p. 174, etc., from an account 
drawn up by Dr. Stube. 



CHAPTER NINTH. 

A general Congress at Albafiy— Franklin's plan for union— The 
British government disapprove of it— General Braddock sent 
over— His embarrassments relieved by Franklin's energy— 
The unsuccessful expedition— Braddock's poor opinion of the 
American troops— Franklin's militia bill— Proceeds to the 
frontier to. erect fortifications— The way to seciire a prompt 
attendance at prayers-Chosen colonel-Difficulties with the 
Proprietaries— Franklin sent to England as the agent of the 
Province— His reception there— Made doctor of laws— Two 
anonymous publications, which produced their intended ef- 
fect—Visit to Holland and Flanders— The armonica— Return 
to America. 

IN 1754, war with France being again appre- 
hended, it was determined to call a general 
Congress at Albany, to arrange a common 
plan of defence; Franklin being appointed 
one of the deputies. A conference was there 
to be held with the chiefs of the Six Nations, 
concerning the best means of protecting their 
country and the white settlements from the 
assaults of the enemy. On his route, Franklin 
drew up a plan for the union of all the Colo- 
nies under one government, so far as might be 
necessary for defence, and other important pur- 
poses. It proposed that the general government 



102 LIFJC OF FRANKLIN. 

should be administered by a president appointed 
bj tlie crown, and a grand council, chosen by the 
provincial assemblies, the council being autho- 
rized to levy taxes for all common exigencies. 
This plan, though unanijuously sanctioned by 
the Congress, was rejected by the Board of 
Trade, as being too democratic in its tenden- 
cies, and by the Assemblies, as having too 
much of prerogative in it. 

Franklin w^as always of the opinion that 
England and her Colonies would both have 
been the gainers, had this scheme been 
adopted. 

The British government deeming it inexpe- 
dient to permit the union which had been 
discussed at Albany, lest the Americans might 
become too military and independent, sent 
over General Braddock with two regiments of 
soldiers, to aid them in the war with the 
French, 

This proud, headstrong officer, landed at 
Alexandria, in Yirginia ; and thence proceed- 
ed to Fredericktown, Maryland, where he 
halted for carriages. " Our Assembly appre- 
hending," says Franklin, "from some informa- 
tion that he had received, violent preju 'ices 
against them, as averse to the service, wished 



INTKRVIKW WJTil B'iADD )CK. 103 

me to wait upon him, not as from tliem, but 
as postmaster-general, under the guise of pro- 
posing {o settle with him the mode of conduct- 
ing with most celerity and certainty the de- 
spatches between him and the governors of 
the several provinces, with whom he must 
necessarily have continual correspondence; 
and of which they proposed to pay the ex- 
pense. My son accompanied me on this jour- 
ney. 

"We found the general at Frederick town, 
waiting impatiently for the return of those he 
had sent through the back parts of Maryland 
and Virginia to collect wagons. I stayed 
with him several days, dined with him daily, 
and had full opportunities of removing his 
prejudices, by the information of what tlie 
Assembly had before his arrival actually done, 
and were still willing to do, to facilitate his 
operations. When I was about to depart, the 
returns of wagons to be obtained were brought 
in, by which it appeared that they amounted 
only to twenty-five, and not all of those were 
in serviceable condition. The general and all 
the officers were surprised, declared the expe- 
dition was then at an end, being impossible ; 
and exclaimed against the ministers for igno- 



104 LIFE OF FRANKLIN, 

rantly sending tbeni into a country destitute 
of tlie means of conveying their stores, bag- 
gage, tlcc, not less than one hundred and fifty 
waofons beino^ necessary. 

*' I happened to say, I thought it was a pity 
tliey had not been hinded in Pennsylvania, as 
in that country almost every farmer had his 
wagon. The general eagerly laid hold of my 
words, and said, 'Then you, sir, who are a 
man of interest there, can probably procure 
them for us ; and I beg you will undertake it.' 
I asked what terms were to be oifered the 
owners of the wagons; and I was desired to 
put on paper the terms that appeared to me 
necessary. This I did, and they were agreed 
to, and a commission and instructions accord- 
ingly prepared immediately." 

Franklin immediately advertised for a sup- 
ply of wagons and horses, and in the course 
of two weeks one hundred and lifty wagons, 
with two hundred and fifty-nine carrying- 
horses were on their way to the camp. The 
owners demanded security, in case any wagons 
or horses should be lost, and w^hen General 
Braddock's word was pledged foi*' this pur- 
pose, they refused to receive it, not knowing 
what dependence to place in it. They, how- 



CASTLKS IN tut: AIR. 105 

ever, took Franklin's bond without the least 
hesitation. The general was highly gratified 
with his conduct, and thanked him repeatedly 
for his promjjt assistance, wdiich was put in 
requisition still further, in the ^vay of furnish- 
ing supplies of money and provisijons. 

Some idea of the character of the unfortu- 
nate English officer may be gathered from a 
little incident "which Franklin has recorded^- 

" In conversation with him, one day, he 
was giving me some account of his intended 
progress. 'After taking Fort Duquesne,' said 
he, ' I am to proceed to Niagara ; and, having 
taken that, to Frontenac, if the season will 
allow time, and I suppose it will ; for Du- 
quesne can hardly detain me above three or 
four days ; and then I see nothing that can 
obstruct my march to Niagara.' Having be- 
fore revolved in my mind the long line his 
army must make in their march by a very 
narrow road, to be cut for them through the 
w^oods and bushes, and also what I had read 
of a former defeat of fifteen hundred French, 
who invaded the Illinois country, I had con- 
ceived some doubts and some fears for the 
event of the campaign. But I ventured only 
to say, 'To be sure, sir, if you arrive well 



106 LIFi: OF FRANKLIN. 

before Duquesne, with these fine troops, so 
well provided with artillery, the fort, though 
completely fortified, and assisted with a very 
strong garrison, can probably make but a 
short resistance. The only danger I appre- 
hend of obstruction to your march is from the 
ambuscades of the Indians, who, by constant 
practice, are dexterous in laying and execut- 
ing them ; and the slender line, near four 
miles long, which your army must make, may 
expose it to be attacked by surprise in its 
flanks, and to be cut like a thread into several 
pieces, which, from their distance, cannot come 
up in time to support each other.' 

" He smiled at my ignorance, and replied-^— 
'These savages may indeed be a formidable 
enemy to your raw American militia; but 
upon the king's regular and disciplined troops, 
sir, it is impossible they should make any im- 
pression.' I wa^ conscious of an impropriety 
in my disputing with a military man in mat- 
ters of his profession, and said no more." 

It will be needless here to dw^ell upon the 
particulars of Braddock's unfortunate expedi- 
tion and inglorious defeat. Irving's " Life of 
Washington" furnishes a full and authentic 
description of it (vol. ii., p. 468). 



DKSTKUCTION OF GNADKNHL r 1 KV. 107 

After Braddock's defeat, Franklin intro- 
duced a bill into the Assembly of Pennsyl- 
vania for establishing a volunteer militia, and 
having received a commission as commander, 
he soon raised a corps of five hundred and 
sixty men. His son, who had seen some ser- 
vice in the previous war, was now of great 
assistance in helping to bring this little army 
into something like order. 

The northwestern frontier, which had been 
sorely infested by the enemy, was the quarter 
whence danger was most apprehended, and 
the governor prevailed upon Franklin to pro- 
ceed thither, and build a line of forts for the 
protection of the inhabitants. 

The Indians had recently burned Gnaden- 
hutten, a village of the Moravians, and mur- 
dered the people. 

Franklin assembled the companies at Beth- 
lehem, the chief Moravian settlement, and was 
agreeably surprised to find it in so good a 
posture of defence. It was in January, 1755, 
that the important business of fort-building 
began. The soldiers encamped upon the 
ground where Gnadenhutten had stood, and a 
Ibrtification of pine-trees was soon raised, — a 
poor protection, indeed, against the assaults of 



108 LIFE OF FEANKLIN. 

regular troops, but quite sufficient to keep the 
Indians at bay. 

Mr. Beatty, the zealous Presbyterian chap- 
lain, complained to the commander that the 
men were very reluctant to attend his prayers 
and exhortations. As a part of their daily 
rations, they were entitled to a gill of rum — 
half in the morning, and the other half at 
night. Franklin smiled, and said to the mor- 
tified chaplain — 

" It is perhaps below the dignity of your 
profession to act as steward of the rum, but 
if you were only to distribute it out after 
prayers, you would have them all about you." 

The idea pleased him, and with the assist- 
ance of a few Ivinds, he measured out the 
liquor to the satisfaction of all parties, and 
never were prayers more generally and punc- 
tually attended. 

The fort had hardly been finished and stored 
with provisions, when Franklin received a let- 
ter from the governor, informing him that he 
had called the Assembly, and requesting his 
attendance, if he could possibly be spared 
from the camp. Upon reaching Philadelphia, 
he was gratified to find that his militia system 
was working admirably, — twelve hundred 



franklin's autobiography. 109 

men having enlisted, and these, with six brass 
cannon, made quite a formidable appearance. 
The officers met and chose Franklin for their 
colonel. Tlie first time that he reviewed his 
regiment, the soldiers escorted him back to 
his house, and insisted on firing some rounds 
before his door, which shook down and broke 
several glasses of his electrical apj)aratus. 

" My new honors proved not much less 
brittle," he pleasantly remarks; "for all our 
commissions were soon after broken by a re- 
peal of the law in England."* 



* Autobiography, Spark's edition, p. 205. This most inter 
esting fragment was written in several portions. " It was first 
commenced at Twyford, the country residence of the good 
Bishop of St. Asaph, in 1771, and addressed to his son, the 
governor of New Jersey, and continued at intervals, till the 
Revolutionary War occupied the Avriter's time exclusively. It 
was again, at the solicitation of his friends, James and Vaug- 
han, resumed at Fassy, in 17S4, and afterwards continued in 
America. The history of the several editions of this work is 
curious. It was first, as was the case with Jefterson's " Notes 
on Virginia," published in French, translated from the author's 
manuscript. This version was re-translated into English, and 
published for the first time in that language in London, in 
1793. Oddly enough, in another French edition, which ap- 
peared in Paris in 179S, the autobiography was again translated 
into French from the English version of the foreign language. 
The work as Franklin wrote it, in his native tongue, was first 
given to the world in the collection of his writings, by his 
grandson, William Temple Franklin, in 1817. The translation 
10 



110 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

It should be borne in mind that Pennsyl- 
vania was still a Proprietary government, and 
the Proprietors claimed to be exonerated from 
taxes. In consequence of the disputes to 
which this claim gave rise, Franklin was sent 
to England by the Assembly, as the agent of 
the province. 

He took his son^ with him, and they landed 
at Falmouth, after a perilous voyage, in July, 
1Y57. - In a letter to his wife, describing the 
dangers which they had escaped, he observes : 
" The bell ringing for church, we went thither 
immediately, and, with hearts full of grati- 
tude, returned sincere thanks to God for the 
mercies we had received." 

Franklin's fame as a philosopher and a polit- 
ical writer had preceded him, and he did not 
find himself a stranger or without friends in 
England. His arrival Avas soon noised abroad 
on the Continent, and he received congratula- 
tory letters from some of the most distin- 
guished men of the time, expressing admira- 

froiu the French is still in circulation in this country, uotwitii- 
standing the publication of Franklin's original, though the 
authoritative edition of Sparks has of late set an example 
which will drive all other copies than the genuine one from 
the market." — Duyckiuck''s Oyclopcedia^ vol. i., p. 106. 
* William Franklin, afterwards governor of New Jersey. 



THK HISTORICAL REVIEW. Ill 

tion of his scientific achievements, and respect 
for his character. But the business which had 
been intrusted to his Rands required his closest 
attention. His instructions embraced several 
objects tending to restore Pennsylvania to its 
former peace and prosperity. The principal 
one was to complain to the king that the Pro- 
prietaries refused to bear their due share of 
the expenses incurred in providing for the de- 
fence of the province. 

The Proprietaries at this time, were Thomas 
and Richard Penn, sons of William Penn, the 
founder of the colony. Franklin found them 
in no humor to yield to the complaints of the 
people, and he felt sure that he should finally 
be obliged to appeal to the higher tribunals. 

The business went on very slowly, and there 
were many provoking hindrances. To aid the 
cause of his constituents, he published, in 
1759, an able work entitled the "Historical 
Peview," in which he traced the political 
history of Pennsylvania, touching now and 
then, with considerable severity, upon the acts 
of William Penn and of his descendants. 
Although this performance was issued without 
the author's name, few had any doubts as to 
the source from which it came. It accom-- 



112 I.TIK OF FKANKLTN. 

plished, quietly and successfully, its important 
purpose of enlightening the public mind, and 
of preparing those in office to act with a bet- 
ter understanding of the subject, when the 
proper time should come. 

Franklin while devoting himself mainly to 
the affairs of his agency, visited various parts 
of England and Scotland, and made manv 
friends among the most distinguished men of 
the day. It was by his advice that the expe- 
dition against Canada was projected, which 
ended in the victory of Wolfe at Quebec, and 
the conquest of that country. He was made 
a Doctor of Lams by the universities of Edin- 
burgh and Oxford. 

After a delay of almost three years, Frank- 
lin succeeded in bringing his public business 
to a close, the case being decided in June, 
1760. He had the satisfaction of knowing 
that his services met with the entire approba- 
tion of his constituents. 

As the war with France was about to termi- 
nate, the question began to be discussed among 
politicians, as to which of the possessions taken 
from the enemy, it would be most important 
for England to retain. The American phi- 
losopher Seized his ready pen, and prepared 



TRAVEL THROUGH HOLLAND. 113 

an anonymous tract, "The Interest of Great 
Britain considered," in which he gave various 
reasons for keeping Canada. These were so 
clear and convincing, that thej' weiglied down 
all opposition. It is a curious fact that Frank- 
lin was thus instrumental, in some degree, in 
adding Canada to the British dominions, which 
proved to be the first step towards the inde- 
pendence of the Colonies, a result wliich the 
same master-mind contributed so mucih to ac- 
comph'sh. 

Crossing the Atlantic was at that day too 
formidable an undertaking to be thought of 
very often, and now that he was in England, 
lie determined to make the best use of his 
time. Accordingly, in 1761, he travelled 
through Holland and Flanders, returning in 
season to be present at the coronation of George 
the Third. His philosophical studies were 
continued, whenever the opportunity was 
aflforded him. 

Wliile staying in London, he saw for the 
iirst time, an instrument, consisting of musical 
ghisses, upon which tunes were played by 
passing a wet finger round their brims. Al- 
thougli charmed with the sweetness of its 
tones, the instrument appeared to him to be 

10* 



114 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

less perfect than it might be, and after various 
trials he succeeded in constructing one of a 
different form, and more commodious. He 
called it the Armonica, in honor of the musi- 
cal language of the Italians. 

At the beginning of 1762, Dr. Franklin 
began to prepare for his departure to America, 
although his friends were warmly urging him 
to send for his family, and to make his home 
in London. He sailed from Portsmouth to- 
Avards the close of August, and arrived at 
Philadelphia on the first of November, after 
an absence of more than five years. His 
friends, both political and private, flocked 
around him to offer their congratulations on 
the success of his mission, and his safe return. 



CHAPTER TEjSTTH. 

No time for domestic enjoyment — The duties of postmaster- 
general — Extensive tour of duty — Sarah Franklin — New diffi- 
culties — Sensible letter — Value which Franklin attached to 
the Prayer-book — Once more in England — The Stamp Act, 
and the troubles which grew out of it — Franklin's eiforts to 
set matters right — Examination before the House of Commons 
— Becomes more bold and decided — The English ministry 
once more in mischief — Franklin becomes weary of ineffec- 
tual efforts for better things — Hasty departure for America — 
Death of his wife — Some particulars concerning her. 

AFTEE. so long an absence, it would have 
been grateful to Franklin's feelings to be 
allowed, for a time at least, to enjoy the quiet 
and repose of home ; but public duties were 
still pressing upon him, and he was not dis- 
posed to neglect them. At each election, 
while he was in Europe, he had been chosen a 
member of the Assembly, and he again took 
his seat in that body, displaying, on every 
occasion of difficulty or danger, his wonderful 
resources, and his uncompromising fidelity to 
the real interests of his country. 

Holding the position of postmaster-general 
in America, five months of the year 1763 



116 LIFE OF FK AN KLIN. 

were spent in travelling throngh the northern 
colonies for the purpose of inspecting the post- 
offices. The whole extent of his tour was 
about sixteen hundred miles. He was accom- 
panied by his daughter,"^ who rode nearly all 



* Sarah Franklin was born at Philadelphia, September, 1744. 
Pier father was such an advocate of liberal education, that we 
may feel sure that her early advantages were very respectable. 
She married in 1767 ; her husband, Eichard Bache, a Piiiludel- 
phia merchant, being a native of Yorkshire, England. 

The only daughter of Dr. Franklin had been ton thoroughly 
trained in the school of patriotism, to act any bat a noble part 
in the struggle for independence. We find her very busy in pro- 
viding clothes for the American soldiers during the severe win- 
ter of 1780. The Marquis de Chastellux, thus notices a visit he 
made to her about this time. After detailing the preliminaries 
of the visit, he goes on: "Mrs. Bache merited all the anxiety 
we had to see her, for she is the daughter of Mr. Franklin. 
Simple in her manners like her respected father, she possesses 
his benevolence. She conducted us into a room filled with 
work, lately finished by the ladies of Philadelphia. This work 
consisted neither of embroidered tambour waistcoats, nor of 
net-work edging, nor of gold and silver brocade. It was a 
quantity of shirts for the soldiers of Pennsylvania. The ladies 
bought the linen from their own private purses, and took a 
pleasure in cutting them out and sewing themselves. On each 
shirt was the name of the lady who made it, and they amount- 
ed to twenty-two hundred." 

A letter from M. de Marbois to Dr. Franklin, the succeeding 
year, thus speaks of his daughter: "If there are in Europe any 
women who need a model of attachment to domestic duties and 
love for their country, Mrs. Bache may be pointed out to them 
as such. She passed a part of the last year in exertions to rouso 



APPOINTED AGENT. 117 

the way from Khode Island to Philadelphia 
on horseback, Avhile he drove himself in a 
lio'ht carriasre. 

Kew difficulties continuing to arise between 
the province and the Proprietaries, the Assem- 
bly at last determined to petition for the estab- 
lishment of a regal government, and Franklin 
was again appointed agent, in 1764. Twelve 
days after receiving this fresh evidence of pub- 
lic confidence, he left Philadelphia (]N"ovem- 
ber 7), accompanied by a cavalcade of three 
hundred citizens, who attended him as far as 
Chester, where he took ship. 

'* The affectionate leave taken of me by so 
many dear friends at Chester," said he, " was 



the zeal of the Pennsylvania ladies, and she made on this occa- 
sion such a happy use of the eloquence which you know she 
possesses, that a large part of the American army was provided 
with shirts, bought with their money, or made by their hands. 
In her applications for this purpose, she showed the most inde- 
fatigable zeal, the most unwearied perseverance, and a courage 
in asking, which surpassed even the.obstinate reluctance of the 
Quakers in refusing." 

Such were the women o ' America during the long and fear- 
ful struggle which preceded the independence of the United 
States. Few, indeed, had the talents and opportunities to per- 
form so many benevolent deeds as Mrs. Bache ; her patriotism 
has made her an example, for her countrywomen. She died in 
1808, aged sixty-four years. 



118 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

very endearing. God bless them and all Penn- 
sylvania." He sailed the next day, but the 
vessel was detained over night at Reedy 
Island, in the Delaware. At that place he 
Avrote a letter to his daughter, from which the 
f()Uowing is an extract : 

" My dear child, the natural prudence and 
goodness of heart God lias blessed you with, 
make it less necessary for me to be particular 
in giving you advice. I shall therefore only 
say, that the more attentively dutiful and ten- 
der you are towards your good mamma, the 
more you will recommend yourself to me. 
But why should I mention me, when you have 
so much higher a promise in the command- 
ments, that such conduct will recommend you 
to the favor of God. You know I have many 
enemies, all indeed on the public account (for 
I cannot recollect that I have in a private ca- 
pacity given just cause of offence to any one 
whatever), yet they are enemies, and very 
bitter ones ; and you must expect their enmity 
will extend in some degree to you, so that 
your slightest indiscretions will be magnified 
into crimes, in order th^ more sensibly to 
wound and afflict me. It is, therefore, the 
more necessary for you to be extremely cir- 



LETTKR TO HIS DAUGHTER. 119 

cumspect in all your behavior, that no advan- 
tage may be given to their malevolence. 

"Go constantly to church, whoever preaches. 
The act of devotion in the Common Prayer 
Book is your principal business there, and if 
properly attended to, will do more towards 
amending the heart than sermons generally 
can do ; for they were composed by men of 
much greater piety and wisdom than our com- 
mon composers of sermons can pretend to be ; 
and therefore I wish you would never miss 
the prayer days ; yet I do not mean you 
should despise sermons, even of the preachers 
you dislike ; for the discourse is often much 
better than the man, as sweet and clear waters 
come through very dirty earth. I am the 
more particular on this head as you seemed to 
express, a little before I came away, some in- 
clination to leave our church, which I would 
not have you do." 

Sarah Franklin was now in her twentieth 
year, an age when the advice of a father was 
especially needed ; and the judicious hints con- 
tained in this letter are worthy the attention 
of many in our own day. That the philoso- 
pher did not undervalue good preaching is 
clear from the interest which he alwaj^s felt in 



120 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

Whitetield's discourses, but at the same time 
he believed that the Church Service was of 
more importance tlian the most able sermon.* 



* Dr. Fraiikliirs interest in the Pruyer-book appears every 
now and tlien, in little incidental references scattered through- 
out his extensive; correspondence. Thus, in writing to his 
wife from London, June 10, 1766, he says: "I have ordered 
two large print Prayer-books to be boinid on purpose for you 
and Goody tSniith. So yon will both of you be reprieved from 
the use of spectacles in church a little lougev.^^ —Sparks, vol. 
vii., p. 170. 

Again, under date June IG, 1703: *• You spent your Sunday 
very well, but I think you should go oftencr to church." — 
Sparks^ vol. vii., p. 254. 

It is a curious fact that Dr. Franklin was, to some extent, the 
father of what wo call the Memorial Movement— at least, so far 
as the curtailment of the Church Service is concerned, and its 
adaptation to circumstances. While we trust that no church- 
wan woidd be willing to see the book changed to the extent 
which he proposed, the preface to his work exhibits his views 
in regard to public worship more fully than they are anywhere 
else to be found, and so far it is a curiosity. It must also be 
remembered that it was the English Prayer-book which he had 
in view, and that many judicious alterations have since been 
made in our own. Franklin's book is entitled, " Abridgment 
of the Book of Common Prayer," &c., and was printed in Lon- 
don in 1778. We quote a part of the preface, which is still ex- 
tant in his own handwriting: 

"PREFACE. 

'•The editor of the following abridgment of the Liturgy of 
the Church of England thinks it but decent and respectful to 
all, more particularly to the reverend body of clergy who adorn 
the Protestant religion by their good works, preaching, and 



ABRIDGING THE PRAYER-BOOK. 121 

After a stormy passage of thirty days, Dr. 
Franklin found himself once more in England. 
When the news came back to Philadelphia, 

example, that he should humbly offer some reason* for such 
an undertaking. He addresses himself to the serious and dis- 
cerning, lie professes himself to be a Protestant of the Church 
of England, and holds in the higljest veneration the doctrines 
of Jesus Christ. He is a sincere lover of social worship, deeply 
.sensible of its usefulness to society ; and he aims at doing some 
service to religion by proposing such abbrevhitions and omis- 
sions in the forms of our Liturgy (retaining every thing he 
thinks essential) as might, if adopted, procure a more general 
attendance. For, besides the differing sentiments of many 
pious and well-disposed persons in some speculative points, 
who in general have a good opinion of our Church, it has often 
been observed and complained of that the Morning and Even- 
ing Service, as practised in England and elsewhere, are so long, 
and filled with so many repetitions, that the continued atten- 
tion suitable to so serious a duty becomes impracticable, the 
mind wanders, and the fervency of devotion is slackened. 
Also, the propriety of saying the same prayer more than once 
in the same service is doubted, as the service is thereby length- 
ened witiiout apparent necessity— our Lord having given us a 
short prayer as an example, and censured the heathen for 
thinking to be heard because of much speaking. Moreover, 
many pious and devout persons, whose age or infirmities will 
not suffer them to remain for hours in a cold church, especially 
in the winter season, are obliged to forego the comfort and edi- 
fication they would receive by their attendance on divine ser- 
vice. These, by shortening the time, would be relieved ; and 
the vounger sort, who have had some principles of religion in- 
stilled into them, and who have been educated in a belief of 
the necessity of adoring their Maker, would probably more 
frequently, as well as cheerfully, attend divine service, if they 
wtie not detained so lo)ig at any one time. Also, many wcll- 
11 



122 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

his friends celebrated the event by the ringing 
of bells, and other demonstrations of joy. 
Although Franklin had been sent to Eng- 

disposed tradesmen, shopkeepers, artificers, and others, whose 
habitations are not remote from churches, could and would, 
more frequently at least, find time to attend divine service on 
other than Sundays, if the prayers were reduced into a much 
narrower compass. Formerly there were three services per- 
formed, at different times of the day, which three services are 
now usually joined in one. This may suit the conveniency of 
the person who officiates, but is too often inconvenient and 
tiresome to the congregation. If this abridgment, therefore, 
should ever meef with acceptance, the well-disposed clergy, 
who are laudably desirous to encourage \X\q frequency of divine 
service, may promote so great and good a purpose by repeating 
it three times on a Sunday, without so much, fatigue to them- 
selves as at present. Suppose at nine o'clock, at eleven, and 
at one in the evening; and by preaching no more sermons 
than usual, of a moderate length, and thereby accommodate a 
greater number of people with convenient hours. 

" These were general reasons for wishing and proposing an 
abridgment. In attempting it, we do not presume to dictate 
even to a single Christian. We are sensible there is a proper 
authority in the rulers of the Church for ordering such matters; 
and whenever the time shall come when it may be thought not 
unreasonable to revise our Liturgy, there is no doubt but every 
suitable improvement will be made, under the care and direc- 
tion of so much learning, wisdom, and piety in one body of 
men collected. Such a work as this must then be much better 
executed. In the mean time, this humble performance may 
serve to show the practicability of shortening the service near 
one-half, without the omission of what is essentially necessary ; 
and we hope, moreover, that the book may be occasionally of 
Bome use to families or private assemblies of Christians." — 
Sparks, vol. X., p. 207. 



BEFORK THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 123 

land as the special agent for Pennsylvania, 
circumstances soon led him to take an active 
part in the affairs of the other colonies. The 
unjust and unpopular project for taxing the 
American people had already been announced, 
and he carried with him a remonstrance of the 
Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania against 
it, which he presented to Mr. Grenville before 
the passage of the Stamp Act. He resisted the 
adoption of that measure, and from its passage 
(1765) to its repeal (1766), spared no pains to 
prove how unconstitutional and impolitic such 
an act would be. When the repeal was about 
to be attempted, it was arranged by his friends 
that he should be examined on the whole 
question before the House of Commons. This 
memorable examination took place on the 3d 
of February, 1766. 

Franklin's dignified bearing, his self-posses- 
sion, the promptness and propriety with which 
he replied to every question, the familiar ac- 
quaintance which he displayed with political 
affairs, and the fearlessness with which he de- 
fended the course which his countrymen had 
pursued, all combined to arrest the attention, 
and call forth the astonishment of those who 
heard him. 



1-24 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

When lie was asked, whether the Americans 
would pay the stamp duty if it were moder- 
ated, he ariswei-ed, " No ! never, unless com- 
pelled by force of arms." Again, when it was 
inquired how the Americans would receive 
another tax, imposed upon the same principles, 
he said, " Just as they do this ; they will never 
pay." And again, he was asked whether the 
Americans would rescind their resolutions, if 
the Stamp Act were repealed. To this he re- 
plied, " 1^0, never ; they will never do it, unless 
compelled by force of arms." He was also 
questioned as to the non-importation agree- 
ments, and asked whether the Americans 
would not soon become tired of them, and fall 
back to purchasing British manufactures as be- 
fore. He said he did not believe they would; 
that he knew his countr3'men ; that they had 
materials, and industry to work them up ; that 
they could make their own clothes, and would 
make them ; that they loved liberty, and 
would maintain their rights. The examination 
was closed with the two following questions 
and answers : — " What used to be the pride of 
the Americans ?" He answered, " To indulge 
in the fashions and manufactures of Great 
Britain." " What is now their pride ?" " To 



REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT. 125 

wear their old clothes over again till they can 
make new ones." 

After a long and exciting debate in Parlia- 
ment, the Stamp Act was repealed. Still the 
infatuated ministry must devise some fresh 
cause of mischief. On the passage of the rev- 
enue acts of 1767, Dr. Franklin became still 
more bold and earnest in his expostulations, 
and openly predicted in England, that the in- 
evitable result of those and the other similar 
measures of the ministry would be a general 
resistance by the colonies, and a separation 
from the mother country. But he never de- 
viated from his original plan, to make every 
effort to enlighten the public opinion in Eng- 
land, to arrest the ministry in their infatua- 
tion, and to inculcate moderation and patience, 
as well as constancy and unanimity in Amer- 
ica. He endeavored, at the same time, to 
stand well with the British Government, aware 
that this was necessary to enable him to serve 
his country effectually ; while he never ceased 
to proclaim the rights, justify the proceedings, 
and animate the courage of his countrymen. 
He was not ignorant, to use his own Avords, 
" that this course would render him suspected 
in England of being foo much an American, 
11* 



126 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

and in America of being too much of an Eng- 
lishman." His transmission of the celebrated 
letters of Hutchinson and Oliver (1772), which 
had been placed in his hands, is not the least 
memorable of his acts at this opening period 
of the revolution. He immediately avowed 
his own share in the transaction, although he 
never divulged the names of the persons from 
whom he had received them. The indignant 
petition of the Assembly of Massachusetts, in 
consequence of these letters, was presented by 
him to the ministry, and he was immediately 
made the object of the most virulent abuse, and 
held up to the hatred and ridicule of the Brit- 
ish nation. He met the conflict with no less 
spirit than wit, as is particularly exemplified in 
his two satirical pieces, the Prussian Edict, and 
the Rules for reducing a great Empire to a 
small one. At the discussion of the petition 
before the privy council, Franklin was present. 
Wedderburn (afterwards Lord Loughborough), 
the solicitor-general, assailed him with the most 
coarse invective, styling the venerable philoso- 
pher, and the official representative of four of 
the American provinces, a " thief and a mur- 
derer," who had " forfeited all the respect of 
society and of men." The ministry now dis- 



Chatham's eulogy on franklin. 127 

missed him from liis place of deputy postmas- 
ter-general, and a chancery suit was instituted 
in relation to the letters, for the purpose of 
preventing him from attempting his own vin- 
dication. 

At,tempts were made, as the difficulties in- 
creased, to corrupt the man whom it had been 
found impossible to intimidate ; " any reward, 
unlimited recompense, honors, and recompense 
beyond his expectations," were promised him ; 
but he was as inaccessible to corruption as to 
threats. 

It was at this period that he presented the 
petition of the first American Congress ; and 
he attended behind the bar (Feb. 1, 1775), 
in the House of Lords, Avhen Chatham pro- 
posed his plan of a reconciliation. In the 
course of the debate, that great man character- 
ized him as "one whom all Europe held in 
high estimation for his knowledge and wisdom ; 
who was an honor, not to the English nation 
only, but to human nature." 

Franklin was growing extremely weary of 
his fruitless efforts to arrange the unhappy dif- 
ficulties which prevailed, and wrote to his son 
in January, 1772, "I have of late great de- 
bates with myself, whether or not I shall con- 



128 LiFK OF fi:aj;kltn. 

tinne here any longer. I grow home-sick, and, 
being now in mv sixty-seventh year, I begin 
to apprehend some iniirmity of age may attack 
me, and make my return impracticable. I 
liave also some important affairs to settle be- 
fore my death, a period I ought now to think 
cannot be far distant. I see here no disposition 
in Parliament to meddle further in Colony af- 
fairs for the present, either to lay more duties 
or to repeal any ; and I think, though 1 were 
to return again, I may be absent from here a 
year without any prejudice to the business T 
am engaged in ; tliough it is not probable that, 
being once at home, I should ever again see 
England. I liave, indeed, so many good, kind 
friends here, that I could spend the remainder 
of my life among them with great pleasure, 
if it were not for my American connections, 
and the indelible affection I retain for that 
country from which I have been so long in a 
state of exile." 

His friends, however, urged him so strongly 
to delay his departure, lioping that something 
might yet be accomplished, that he sacrificed 
his own convenience and comfort, and tarried 
until he received an intimation that he was 
about to be arrested as guilty of fomenting re- 



DEATH OF MKS. FRANKLIN. 129 

bellion in the Colonies. He then quitted Eng- 
land in haste on the 21st of March, 1775, and 
reached his home on the 5th of May. It was 
now left nnto him desolate, his wife having 
died in the spring of 1774, Avhen he was dili- 
gently making his preparations to return to 
those whom he loved most dearly upon earth. 
Mrs. Franklin was attacked with a paralytic 
stroke whicli she survived only five days. Her 
remains were interred in the cemetery of Christ 
Church, on the side next to Arch-street. They 
had been married forty-four years, and lived 
together in iiiiint<^-]Mi|>ttMi liai-mony and hap- 
piness. 

Their correspondence during his long ab- 
sence, a great part of which has been preserved. 
is affectionate on both sides, exhibiting proofs 
of an unlimited confidence and devoted attach- 
ment. He omitted no opportunity to send her 
whatever he thought would contribute to her 
convenience and comfort, accompanied by nu- 
merous little tokens of remembrance and affec- 
tion. So much did he rely on her prudence 
and capacity, that, when abroad, he intrusted 
to her the management of his private affairs. 
Many years after her death, in writhig to a 
vouno: ladv, he said, "Fruo:alitv is an enrich- 



130 MFK OF FRANKLIN. 

ing virtue ; a virtue I never could acquire my- 
self, but I was once lucky enough to find it in 
my wife, who therefore became a fortune to 
me." The little song which he wrote in her 
praise, is marked with a playful tenderness, 
and contains sentiments creditable to his feel- 
ings as a man and a husband. In his autobi- 
ography and letters he often mentions his wife, 
and always with a kindness and respect whicli 
could proceed only from genuine sensibility, 
and a higli estimate of her character and 
virtues. 

In a collection of " Letters to Benjamin 
Franklin from his family and friends" (New 
York : C. Benjamin Richardson), seven of Mrs. 
Franklin's epistles to her husband are pre- 
served. Every line breathes less the wife of 
the statesman than tlie domestic, good wife. 
Judging from her portrait, she was a fine, 
handsome, cheerful-looking woman ; and she 
addresses the doctor as her " dear child," en- 
tertaining him with the gossip of the day, and 
the various little incidents in her domestic 
affairs. 



CHAPTEE ELEVENTH. 

The reader is introduced to tbe Bisliop of St. Asaph— Franklin 
enjoys his generous liospitality — Keeping a grandson's birth- 
day—Chitchat which is not to be repeated— Frankhn begins 
his autobiography — Dr. Sliipley's noble stand in regard to 
American affairs— Humorous letter on the death of Miss Ship- 
ley's squirrel — A touching reminiscence — The death of the 
good bishop— Dr. Franklin's letter of condolence — Earthly 
friendships brouglit to a close. 

AS a pleasing episode after all the stormy 
scenes through which we have lately 
passed, we shall introduce our readers to Dr. 
Shipley, the bishop of St. Asaph, a man dis- 
tinguished for his virtues, his abilities, and the 
steady support which he gave to the principles 
of civil liberty. He was a devoted friend of 
Dr. Franklin, who, on various occasions, en- 
joyed the generous hospitalities of his house at 
Twyford, in Hampshire, the bishop's summer 
residence. The following letter to Mrs. Franlc- 
lin, from her devoted husband, w411 be read 
with interest. 

"London, August 14, 1771. 
" My dear child : 

" I am glad to hear of all your welfares, 
and that the pictures were safe arrived. You 



132 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

(]() not tell mc who mountcid the great one, 
nor where you have hnng it up. Let me know 
whether T)r. T^ond likes tlio new one better 
than the old one ; if so, the old one is to be 
returned hither to Mr. Wilson, the painter. 
You may keep the frame, as it may be want- 
ed for some other picture there. I wrote to 
you a letter the beginning of last month, 
which was to go by C'ai)tain Falconer, and 
have since been in the country. I am just 
returned to town, and find liim still here, and 
the letters not gone. lie goes, however, next 
Saturday. 

'' T had written to many of my friends by 
him. L spent three weeks in Hampshire, at 
my friend, the Bishop of St. Asaph's. The 
bisho])'s lady knows what children and grand- 
children I have and their ages; so, when I was 
to come away on Monday the 12th, in the 
morning, she insisted on my staying that one 
day longer, thnt we might tog(!tlu^r ke(^p my 
grandson's birthday. At dinner, among other 
nic(; thin<j:s, we had a iloatinj:: island, which 
they alwnys particularly have on \]\o. birthdays 
of any oi'thcii' own six chihh'cn, who were all 
bul one at tabic, wherii thenj was also a cler- 
gyman's widow, now above one hundred years 



LKTTKR TO HIS WIFK. 133 

old. The chief toast of the day was Master 
Benjamin Bache, whicli the venerable old lady 
beiican in a biiuipor of niounfain. The bishop's 
lady politely added, * and tliat he may be as 
2;(X)d a man as his grandfather.' I said I 
hoped he would be much htiitr. The bishop, 
still more complaisant than his lady, said, 
' We will compound the matter, and be con- 
tented if he should not prove quite so good.'* 
This chitchat is to yourself only, in return for 
some of vours about your irrandson, and must 
only be read to Sally, and not spoken of to 
anybody else ; for you know how people add 
and alter silly stories that they hear, and make 
them appear ten times more silly. 

''Just while [ am writing, the post brings 
me the inclosed from the good bishop, with 
some lettei'S of recommendation for Ireland, to 
see which country I am to set out next week 
with my old friend and fellow-traveller. Coun- 
sellor Jackson. AVe expect t() be absent a 
month or six weeks. The bishop's youngest 
daughter, mentioned in his letter, is about 
thirteen years of age, and came up with me in 
the post-chaise to g(^ to school.'' 

It is worth noting, that it was during this 
visit at the Bishop of St. Asaph's, that Frank- 



134 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

lin began to write the memoirs of his life, in 
the form of a letter to his son. 

Dr. Shipley was decidedly opposed to the 
coercive measures adopted by the British gov- 
ernment against the American colonies, and 
in a sermon before the Society for the Propa- 
gation of the Gospel, he expressed his opinions 
with the greatest boldness. (See Franklin's 
Works, vol. viii., p. 40.) 

Franklin's humorous letter to Miss Georgia- 
na Shipley, one of the bishop's daughters, will 
afford my young readers some amusement. 

Her epistles to the distinguished American 
prove her to have been a young lady of a 
highty cultivated mind, lively sensibility, and 
generous disposition. 

Here is the letter just referred to. 

London, September 26, 1772. 
Dear Miss : 

I lament with you most sincerely the 
unfortunate end of poor Mungo. Few squir- 
rels were better accomplished ; for lie had had 
a good education, had travelled far, and seen 
much of the world. As he had the honor of 
being, for his virtues, your favorite, he should 
not go, like common skuggs, without an elegy 



EPITAPH. 135 

or an epitaph. Let us give him one in the 
monumental style and measure, which, being 
neither prose nor verse, is perhaps tlie proper- 
est for grief; since to use common language 
would look as if we were not affected, and to 
make rhymes would seem trifling in sorrow. 



EPITAPH. 

Alas! poor Mungo ! 

Happy wert tliou, hadst thou known ' 

Thy own felicity. 

Remote from tlie fierce bald eagle, 

Tyrant of thy native woods, 

Thou hadst naught to fear from his piercing talons 

Nor from tlie murdering gun 

Of the thoughtless sportsman. 

Safe in thy wired castle. 

Grimalkin never could annoy thee. 

Daily wert thou fed with the choicest viands, 

By the fair hand of an indulgent mistress ; 

But, discontented, 

Thou wouldst have more freedom. 

Too soon, alas ! didst thou obtain it ; 

And wandering, 

Thou art fallen by the fangs of wanton, cruel Eanger. • 

Learn hence, 

Ye who blindly seek more liberty. 

Whether subjects, sons, squirrels, or daughtei's, 

That apparent restraint may be real protection, 

Yielding peace and plenty, 

With security. 

You see, my dear miss, how much more 



136 MFE OF FKAKKI.IN. 

decent and proper this broken style is, than it' 
we were to say, by wa}^ of epitaph, 

Here Skugg, 
Lies snug, 
As a bug, ' 
In a rug. 

And yet, perhaps, there are people in the 
world of so little feeling as to think that this 
would be a good enough epitaph for poor 
Mungo. 

If you wish it, I shall procure another to 
succeed him ; but perhaps you will now 
choose some other amusement. 

Eemember me affectionately to all the good 
family, and believe me ever your affectionate 
friend, B. Franklin. 

On Franklin's return home in 1785, after 
his long sojourn in France, we find the follow- 
ing reference, in one of his letters, to his friend 
Dr. Shipley and his amiable family : 

" I bore my voyage very well, and find my- 
self rather better for it, so that I have every 
possible-reason to be satisfied with my having 
undertaken and performed it. When I was 
at Passy, I could not bear a wheel-carriage ; 
and being discouraged in my project of de- 



D! ATH OF DR. SHIPLEY. 137 

scending the Seine in a boat by the difficulties 
and tedionsness of its navigation in so diy a 
season, I accepted the offer of one of the king's 
litters, carried by large mules, which brought 
me well, though in walking slowly, to Havre. 
Thence I went over in a packet-boat to South- 
ampton, where I stayed four days, till the ship 
came for me to Spithead. Several of my Lon- 
don friends came there to see me, particularly 
the good Bishop of St. Asaph and family, who 
sta)^ed with me to tlie last/' 

But earthly friendship cannot last always. 
We have sad evidence of this in the com- 
munication which follows. The Bishop of St. 
Asaph died on the 9th of December, 1788. 

BoLTox STEEET, 24th December, 1788. 
My dear Friend : 

It is a great while since I wrote to you, 
and still longer since 1 heard from you ; but I 
have now a particular pleasure in writing to 
one who had long known and lov^ed the dear 
good parent I have h^st. You will p^'obably, 
before you receive this, have heard of my 
father's death. His illness was short, and ter- 
minated in an apoplexy. He was seldom per- 
fectly in his senses ^br the last four days ; but 

12* 



138 LIFE OF FliA:NIvLIN. 

such constant calmness and composure could 
only have attended the death-bed of a truly 
good man. liow unlike the ideas I had 
formed to myself of death, which, till now, I 
had only seen at a distance, and heard of 
with terror ! The nearer his last moment ap- 
proached, the more his ideas seemed elevated ; 
and but for those whom living he had loved 
with tenderness, and dying he still felt inter- 
ested for, he showed no regret at leaving this 
world. 1 believe his many virtues have called 
down a blessing on his family, for we have ajl 
been supported under this severe affliction be- 
yond what I could have imagined ; and though 
sorrow will for a time get the better of every 
other sensation, I feel now that the strongest 
impression left by his death is the desire of 
imitating his virtues in an humbler sphere of 
life. 

My dear mother's health, I hope, will not 
have suffered materially ; and she has every 
consolation to be derived from the reflection, 
that, fijr forty-five years, it was the study of 
her life to make the best of husbands happy. 
He, in return, has shown that his attention to 
her ease and comfort did not end with his life. 
He was happily preserved to us so long as to 



TOUCHING LI-.iTKi:. 139 

be able to leav' e all liis family in good circum- 
stances. I fancy my mother, Bessy, and I 
shall li\^e at Twyford, but at present no place 
io settled. 

May T flatter myself that you will still feel 
tsjme atfection for the family of your good old 
friend, and let me have the happiness of hear- 
ing it from yourself. 

I shall request Dr. Price to send this letter. 
My mother, brother, and sisters beg to be all 
most kindly remembered. 

Believe me, dear sir, your faithful and 
obliged Catherine Louisa Shipley. 

To this touching letter, Dr. Franklin thus 
replied, and with this w^e take our leave of the 
good bishop : 

PniLADELPHiA, April 27, 1789. 
It is only a few days since the kind letter of 
my dear young friend, dated December 24, 
came to my hands. I had before, in the pub- 
lic papers, met with the afflicting news that 
letter contained. That excellent man has then 
left us ! His departure is a loss, not to his 
family and friends only, but to his nation and 
to the world ; for he was intent on doing good, 
had wisdom to devise the means, and talents 



140 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

to promote them. His " Sermon before the 
Society for Propagating the Gospel," and his 
'; Speech intended to have been spoken," are 
proofs of his ability as well as his humanity. 
Had his counsels in those pieces been attended 
to by the ministers, how much bloodshed might 
have been prevented, and how much expense 
and disgrace to the nation avoided ! 

Your reflections on the constant calmness 
and composure attending his death are very 
sensible. Such instances seem to show tl)at 
the good sometimes enjoy in dying a foretaste 
of tlie happy state they are about to enter. 

According to tlie course of years, I should 
have quitted this world long before him. I 
shall, however, not be long in following. I 
am now in my eighty-fourth year, and tlie last 
year has considerably enfeebled me, so that I 
hardly expect to remain another.. You will 
then, my dear friend, consider this as probably 
the last line to be received from me, and as a 
taking leave. Present my best and most sin- 
cere respects to your good mother, and love to 
the rest of the family, to whom I wish all hap- 
piness, and believe me to be, while I do live, 
yours most affectionately, B. Feanklin. 



CHAPTEE TWELFTH. 

Dr. Franklin in Congress — The whole country in agitation on 
account of the conflict at Lexington — Causes of the American 
Kevolution — Letter to Dr. Priestley — Treacherous conduct of 
General Gage— A busy old man — Frugality and industry be- 
come fashionable — Evidences that our patriotic fathers looked 
to God for help — Peyton Kandolph's funeral — New post-ofiico 
arrangenients — The half-bound folio of tliree quires of paper 
— Military affairs— Franklin serves on various important com- 
mittees—Secret correspondence opene'd with friends abroad 
— Commissioners sent to Canada — Very little accomplished. 

rpHE very next day after his arriyal in Phil- 
X aclelphia. Dr. Franklin was cliosen by the 
xlssembly of Pennsylvania a delegate to the 
second Continental Congress, which was to 
meet on the 10th of May, 1775. Tidings of 
the conflict at Lexington and Concord had 
thrown the whole country into a state of the 
greatest agitation, — all classes seized their 
arms, and the war-cry' resounded through the 
land. The oppressed Colonies were rising up 
in their majesty to yindicate their rights.^ 

* When the late President Adams was minister at tlie Court 
of St. James, he often saw his countryman, Benjamin West, 
the late president of the Royal Academy. One day, Mr. West 



142 i.TFi: or fi^axklix. 

Franklin thus refers to the state of public 
affairs, in a letter to Dr. Priestley : 

" Britain has begun to burn our seaport 
towns ; secure, I suppose, that we shall never 
be able to return the outrage in kind. She 



asked his friend if he wished to take a walk and see the cause 
of the American Revolution. The minister smiled at the pro- 
posal, and said he should like to accompany his friend West 
anywhere. The following day he called, according tO' agree- 
ment, and took Mr. Adams into Hyde Park to a spot near 
Serpentine River, where he gave him the following narrative : 

" The king came to the throne a young man, surrounded by 
flattering courtiers, one of whose frequent topics it was to de- 
claim against the meanness of his palace, which was wholly un- 
worthy a monarch of such a country as England. They said 
there was not a sovereign in Europe lodged so poorly ; that his 
sorry, dingy, old brick palace of St. James looked like a stable, 
and that he ought to hold a palace suited to his kingdom. The 
king was fond of architecture, and would thei-efore readily lis- 
ten to suggestions, wliich were in fact all true. Tiie spot that 
you see here was selected for the site, between tliis and this 
point, which were marked out. The king applied to his minis- 
ters on the subject. They inquired what sum would be wanted 
by his majesty, who said that he would begin with a million. 
They stated the expenses of the war, and the poverty of the 
treasury, but that his majesty's wishes should be taken into 
full consideration. Some time afterwards the king was in- 
formed that the wants of the treasury were too urgent to admit 
of a supply from their present means, but that a revenue might 
be raised in America to supply all the king's wishes. The sug- 
gestion was followed up, and the king was in this way first led 
to eonfeider and then to consent to the scheme of taxing the 
Colonies." 



LETTER TO DU. PRIESTLEY. 143 

may doubtless destroy them all; but if she 
wishes to recover our comuierce, are these the 
probable means ? She must certainly be dis- 
tracted ; for no tradesman out of Bedlam ever 
thought of increasing the number of his cus- 
tomers by knocking them on the head, or of 
enabling them to pay their debts by burning 
their liouses. If slie wishes to have us sub- 
jects, and that we should submit to her as our 
compound sovereign, she is now giving us 
such miserable specimens of her government, 
that we shall ever detest and avoid it, as a 
complication of i-obbery, murder, famine, fire, 
and pestilence. 

" You will have heard, before this reaches 
you, of the treacherous conduct of General 
Gage to the remaining people in Boston, in 
detaining their goods, after stipulating to let 
them go out with their effects, on pretence 
that merchants' goods wei-e not effects ; the 
defeat of a great body of his troops by the 
country people at Lexington ; some other small 
advantages gained in skirmishes with their 
troops ; and the actir>n at Bunker's Hill, in 
which they were tw4ce repulsed, and the third 
time gained a dear victory. Enough has hap- 
pened, one W(,)nld think, to convince your min- 



H4 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

isters that the Americans will fight, and that 
this is a harder nut to crack than thej im- 
agined. 

" ^Ye have not yet applied to any foreign 
power for assistance, nor offered our commerce 
for their friendship. Perhaps we never may; 
yet it is natural to think of it, if we are pressed. 
We have now an army on the establishment, 
which still holds yours besieged. My time 
was never more fully employed. In the morn- 
ing, at six, I am at the Committee of Safety, 
appointed by the Assembly to put the prov- 
ince in a state of defence, which committee 
holds till near nine, when I am at the Con- 
gress, and that sits till after four in the after- 
noon. Both these bodies proceed with the 
greatest unanimity, and their meetings are 
well attended. It will scarce be credited in 
Britain that men can be as diligent with us 
from zeal for the public good, as.with you for 
thousands ]3er annum. Such is the difference 
between uii corrupted new states and corrupted 
old ones. 

"Great frugality and great industry are 
no^v become fashionable here. Gentlemen 
who used to entertain with two or three 
courses, pride themselves now in treating 



145 

■with simple beef and pudding. By these 
means, and the stoppage of our consumptive 
trade with Britain, we shall be better able to 
pay our voluntary taxes for the support of our 
troops. Our savings in the article of trade 
amount to near live millions sterling per 
annum.'' 

The blood of xlmerican freemen had been 
shed by a wanton exercise of military power, 
and those who had hitherto been hoping that 
the difficulties with the mother country might 
yet be amicably settled, were now convinced 
that political independence was the only cure 
for the evils under which the colonies so lono: 
had suffered. 

We observe with satisfaction that the fathers 
of the Republic were men who feared God, 
and who sought for His help and blessing. 

In " Passages from the Diary of Christopher 
Marshall," edited by Mr. A7illiam Dr.ane, we 
find many incidental references which bring 
this fact conspicuously before us. Thus, under 
dare of May 11, 1775, he notes : " This after- 
noon the delegates opened the Congress at tlio 
State House; began with prayer, in which 
officiated Jacob" Duche." 

It will be remembered that this clergyman 



146 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

had offered the first prayer in Congress, on the 
7th of September, 1774, when the appointed 
services in the Prajer-book proved to be so 
wonderfully appropriate for the occasion. ^"^ 

Again: Mr. Marshall writes in his private 
journal on the 20th of July: "This being the 
memorable day in which our unjust and cruel 
ministry took away all our sea-trade, as far hs 
their inveterate malice could reach, the sho].o 
shut, most families attended divine worship. 
I went to Christ Church, where an excellent 
sermon was preached on the occasic)n to a 
crowded auditory, among whom were, I pre- 
sume, all the delegates. It was an awful meet- 
ing, as numbers of wet eyes demonstrated their 
attention." 

On the 22d of October, Peyton Kandolph, 
the president of Congress, died of apoplexy ; 
|ind two days afterwards, the same hand makes 
note that the delegates went to Christ Church, 
where Mr. Duche preached, and then all fol- 
lowed the remains of the deceased patriot to 
the ojrave in the church burial-oTound. 

Dr. Franklin w^as one of the rulino: minds in 



* See Lossing's "Field Book of the Revolution," vol. ii., p. 
267 ; ftnd the "Life of Washington," in this series. 



APPOINTED Postmaster. 147 

Congress, and as early as July, 1775, he had 
prepared and presented a plan of confedera- 
tion, which was little else, in fact, than a dec- 
laration of independence. This plan was pub 
lished both in this country and in England, 
and although it w^as not acted upon imme- 
diately, it served a good purpose afterwards, 
when the members of Congress were ready to 
consider the subject. 

As the post-office establishment had been 
eifectually broken up by the disorders of tiie 
times, a new one was erected, and Dr. Frank- 
lin appointed postmaster, with a salary of a 
thousand dollars per annum. 

''In the general post-office at Washington 
city, I saw, several years ago," w^rites Mr. Los- 
sing, "Field-Book," vol. i., p. 568, "the book 
in which Franklin kept his post-office accounts. 
It is a connnon, half-bound folio, of three quires 
of coarse paper, and contained all the Entries 
for nearly two years. The first entry was 
November 17, 1776. 'Now more than fifteen 
hundred of the largest-sized ledgers are re- 
quired annually for the same purpose; the 
number of contractors and other persons hav- 
ing accounts wath the office being over thirty 
thousand." 



148 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

During several months tlie attention of 
Congress was principally directed to military 
affairs, and in the measures proposed for rais- 
ing and equipping an army. Franklin, now in 
his sixty-ninth year, manifested all the ardor 
and activity of youth. He was the chairman 
of several important committees, and his good 
sense seemed to be ready for use in every 
emergency. 

After Georoje Washino-ton had received the 
honorable and responsible appointment of 
commander-in-chief, Dr. Franklin, Thomas 
Lynch, and Benjamin Harrison were deputed 
by Congress to proceed to the camp at Cam- 
bridge, and confer with him on the best mode 
of recruiting and supporting the army. They 
met at head-quarters, on the 18th of October, 
where they were joined by delegates from 
each of the ]N"ew England governments. The 
conference lasted several days, and such a 
system was matured as was satisfactory to 
General Washington, and as proved effectual 
in attaining the object. 

Some time before, Dr. Franklin had re- 
ceived the sum of one hundred jDounds ster- 
ling, sent to him by benevolent ^^ersons in 
England, as a donation for the relief of those 



DEVICE OF A NATIONAL SEAT.. 149 

who had been wounded in the encounters 
with the British troops, on the day of their 
march to Lexington and Concord, and of the 
widows and children of such as had been slain. 
While he was in the camp at Cambridge, he 
paid this money over to a committee of the 
Massachusetts Assembly. 

During his absence, the Assembly of Penn- 
sylvania met, and by the returns of the elec- 
tion it appeared that he had been chosen a 
representative for the city of Philadelphia. 
He was now a member of three public bodies, 
which convened daily for business, that is : 
Congress, the Assembly, and the Committee of 
Safety ; but he usually attended in Congress, 
whenever the times of meeting interfered with 
each other. 

'' Ways and • means were to be provided. 
Franklin was consulted. The marine service 
was to be resjulated. Franklin asjain was in 
request. Even upon the device of a national 
seal he was engaged. While thus employed, 
how must the old patriot's thoughts have car- 
ried him back to the time when, fifty years 
before, he was contriving ornaments for the 
New Jersey paper money, and to the devices 
and mottoes which he furnished for the Phila- 



150 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

delphia Yohinteers, thirty years before this 
period ! His early publications on paper 
money nnist also have recurred to him while 
he was engaged in the details of the Continen- 
tal paper money issue. It is to be noted that, 
in the emission of the money which after- 
wards so sadly depreciated, the advice of 
Franklin was not followed. He proposed that 
the bills should bear interest ; but other couu- 
sel ruled, and this proposal was not adopted. 
He also recommended, after the iirst emission, 
the borrowing of the bills already issued, in- 
stead of the emission of a further sum. He 
advised, further, the payment of the interest 
in silver. Neither of these suggestions was 
adopted until too late to check the evil which 
they were intended to obviate."^ 

When Congress had brought the affairs of 
the army into tolerable order, they began to 
think of foreign alliances, — and a Committee 
of Secret Correspondence was appointed to 
keep up an intercourse with the friends of the 
American cause in various parts of Europe. 
Dr. Franklin had so long resided abroad that 
there was no hesitation in makinsj him the 



♦ "Life of Franklin," by the Eev. H. H. Weld. 



A COMMISSIONER TO CANADA. 151 

leading agent in these important negotiations, 
wliich were the means of accomplishing much 
good. 

Hopes had been generally entertained that 
the Canadians might be persuaded to join the 
other Colonies in the struggle for freedom, 
and during the first year of the war, while the 
Americans had an army in Canada, tliere 
seemed some prospect that these hopes would 
be realized. With the death of the lamented 
Montgomery, however, adverse fortune began, 
and in the spring of 1776, the case appeared 
almost desj^erate. Congress then determined 
to send commissioners to Canada, who should 
have full powers to regulate the operations of 
the army, and to aid the people in forming a 
civil government. 

Dr. Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Charles 
Carroll, were selected for the purpose. They 
left Philadelphia on the 20th of March, 1776, 
accompanied by Mr. John Carroll, a Koman 
Catholic clergyman (afterwards Archbishop 
of Baltimore), whose French education and 
religious profession it was hoped, frould give 
him influence with the priests in Canada, and 
thus, indirectly, gain the good will of the 
people. 



]r>2 I>IFE OF FRANKIJX. 

The dreadful condition of the roads detained 
the commissioners so long on the way, that 
the American army was in full reti-eat from 
Quebec, followed by an enemy superior in 
numbers, before they reached Montreal. 

The truth is, the Canadians were not ready 
to enter upon the hazardous experiment which 
the other Colonies had engaged in ; and the 
commissioners foimd it useless to attempt to 
inspire them with the love of freedom, and a 
spirit of enterprise, which were foreign to the 
dispositions of most of them. 

Dr. Franklin reached home early in June, 
with health much impaired by fatigue and ex- 
posure. Before his departure for Canada, he 
liad withdrawn from the Assembly and Com- 
mittee of Safety, not knowing how long he 
should be absent, and deeming it improper to 
hold pnblic stations the duties of which he 
could not discharo^e. In his letter of resis-na- 
tion, he said ; " T am extremely sensible of 
the honor done me by my fellow-citizens, in 
choosing me their representative in Assembly, 
and of that lately conferred on me by the 
House, in appointing me one of the Commit- 
tee of Safety for this province, and a delegate 
in Congress. It would be a happiness to me. 



TOO OLD TO SE«IVI-. 153 

if I could serve the public duly in all those 
stations ; but, aged as I now am, I feel myself 
unequal to so much business, and on that ac- 
count think it my duty to decline a part of it. 
1 hope, therefore, that the House will be so 
good as to accept my excuse for not attending 
as a member of the present Assembly, and, if 
they think tit, give orders for the election of 
anotlier in my place, that the city may be 
more completely represented. I request, also, 
that the House would be pleased to dispense 
with my farther attendance as one of the 
Committee of Safety." On his return, there- 
fore, he was at liberty to give his undivided 
attention to the national counsels in Congress. 
He was chosen a member of one of the com- 
mittees, which assembled in June from the 
several counties of Pennsylvania, for the pur- 
pose of deliberating on the mode of summon- 
ing a convention to form a new constitution ; 
but the conference was short, and, if he 
attended at all, he took little part in the pro- 
ceedings. 



CHAPTEE THIRTEENTII. 

Ready for independence — A'irginia takes the first decided step 
— John Dickinson has his doubts — Arguments answered — 
The Declaration drawn up and signed — Anecdote told by Mr. 
Jefferson — " We must all luing together !" — King George pro- 
poses to pardon his rebel subjects — The two Ilowes come 
over as commissioners — Correspondence with Dr. Franklin — 
The game of chess — " They ought to kiss and be friends" — 
General Sullivan carries a message to Congress — One more 
attempt at negotiations, and then the game ends. 

MATTERS had now gone so far tliat a large 
majority of the American people were 
ready to declare themselves independent of 
tlie mother country, and the subject was 
brouo'ht before Cono-ress in due form. The 
Leo'islature of Yiro-inia havino^ instructed their 
delegates to propose it, Richard Henry Lee 
had the honor of doing it, and an animated 
debate followed, in which the views of the 
more prominent members were freely express- 
ed. "Wliile the larger number were found 
prepared tcttake a decided step without delay, 
some, who were equally patriotic, believed 
that the time had not yet come. Among the 
latter class was Joim Dickinson, a Marvlander 



DECLARATION OK INDi:Pi;XDKNCK. 155 

by birth, but at this time a delegate from 
Pennsylvania. He had written and done so 
ninch to help forward the great struggle, that 
even his friends were astonished when he op- 
posed the declaration of independence, on the 
ground that compromise was still practicable, 
and that the people were not ripe for a final 
separation from Great Britain. Tliis rendered 
him so unpopnlar for a while, that he witli- 
drew from the public councils, and did not 
recover his seat in Congress until two years 
afterwards. He then returned, earnest and 
decided in the cause of independence. The 
arguments of the doubting members were so 
ably met by such men as John Adams, and 
Lee, and Franklin, that the Declaration was 
drawn up, and after three days' debate, passed 
on the fourth of July, 1776 ; from which time 
the United States became, in fact, an independ- 
ent nation. 

Mr. Jefferson (who is generally regarded as 
the authoi* of this famons document), relates a 
characteristic anecdote of Franklin connected 
with this subject. Being annoyed at tlie al- 
terations made in his draft, while it was under 
discussion, and at the censnres freely be'stowed 
upon parts of it, he began to fear it would be 



156 LIFE OF FPANKLIN. 

dissected and mangled till a skeleton only 
wonld remain. '' I was sitting,'' lie observes, 
" bj Dr. Franklin, who perceived that 1 was 
not insensible to these mutilations. ' I have 
made it a rule,' said he, ' whenever in mj 
power, to avoid becoming the draftsman of 
papers to be reviewed b}' a pnblic body. I 
took my lesson from an incident which I will 
relate to yon. When I was a jonrneyman 
printer, one of my companions, an apprentice- 
hatter, having served ont his .time, was abont 
to open shop for liimself His iirst concern 
was to have a handsome sign-board, with a 
proper inscription. He composed it in these 
words, John Thompson^ Hatter^ mahes and 
sells Hats for rearhj money^ with a figure of a 
hat subjoined. But he thought he wonld sub- 
mit it to his friends for their amendments. 
The first he showed it to, thought the word 
hatter tautologous, because followed by the 
words makes hats^ which sliowed he was a 
hatter. It was struck out. The next observed, 
that the word makes might as Avell be omit- 
ted, because his customers would not care who 
made the hats; if good and to their mind, 
they would buy, by w^homsoever made. He 
struck it out. A third said he thought the 



ANECDOTE OF FKANKLIN. 157 

^Yordsfor ready money were useless, as it was 
not the eiistom of tlie place to sell on credit. 
Every one who purchased, expected to pay. 
They were parted witli ; and the inscription 
now stood, John Thompson sells hats. '* -6^^^/^ 
hats?" says his next friend; "why, nohody 
w^ill expect you to give them away. What 
then is the use of that word ?" It ^vas stricken 
out, and hats foHowed, the rather, as there 
was one painted on the hoard. So ]iis inscrip- 
tion was reduced ultimately to John Thoinp- 
son^ -with the figure of a hat suhjoined.' " 

There is also another anecdote related of 
Franklin, respecting an incident which took 
place wdien the members w^ere about to sign 
the declaration. " We must bo unanimous," 
said Hancock ; " there must be no pulling 
different ways ; \yq must all hang together." 
" Yes," replied Franklin, " we must, indeed, all 
liang together, or most assuredly we shall all 
hang separately." 

About two months before the declaration of 
independence, Congress had recommended 
that some changes should be made in the sys- 
tems of government of several of the Colonies, 
and delegates from the counties of Pennsylva- 
nia met together to form a new constitution, 
u 



158 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

Dr. Franklin was chosen president, and al- 
thoiigli occasional!}^ absent, in order to attend 
to important business in the great national 
assembly, he continued to preside during the 
two months that the convention remained in 
session. It is not known what part he took in 
framing the constitution of Pennsylvania, but 
he certainly was not unobservant or inactive. 

King George had made a speech at the 
opening of Parliament, in which he spoke of 
sending out commissioners to America, with 
power to grant pardons, and to receive the 
submission of his repentant subjects. Poor, 
foolish man ! little did he imagine how thor- 
oughly the affections of the Colonies had been 
alienated from the mother country. This ap- 
pearance of mildness and a desire for peace, 
on tlie part of his majesty, was entirely con- 
cealed by Lord North's Prohibitory Bill^ for- 
bidding all trade and intercourse with the 
Colonies. 

While the main bod}^ of the American army 
under Washington was stationed at ]N"ew 
York, in the spring of 1776, General Howe 
arrived there with a large number of British 
troops from Halifax, and was soon afterwards 
joined by his brother, Lord Howe, the com- 



OPINION OF THE BRITISH MINISTRY. 159 

inander of a powerful armament fresh from 
Europe. The two brothers were tlie commis- 
sioners appointed by the king. They forth- 
with caused the will of his gracious majesty to 
be made known throughout the Colonies, and 
Lord Howe wrote a private and friendly letter 
to Franklin, expressing great respect for his 
character, and an earnest desire that the un- 
happy differences between the two countries 
might be put to rest. It was answered by the 
doctor in a spirit not less friendly and respect- 
ful ; but, in regard to the public communica- 
tions, he said, he was sorry to find them of, 
such a nature, since "it must give his lordship 
pain to be sent so far on so hopeless a busi- 
ness." Aftei' some other remarks, touching 
the conduct and designs of the ministry, he 
added : 

" Long did I endeavor, with unfeigned and 
unwearied zeal, to preserve from breaking, 
that fine and noble china vase, the British 
empire ; for I knew, that being once broken, 
the separate parts could not retain even their 
share of the strength or value that existed in 
the whole, and that a perfect reunion of those 
parts could scarce ever be hoped for. Your 
lordship may possibly remember the tears of 



IGO LIFK OF FKANKLIN. 

joy tliat wet iny cheek, when at your good 
sister's in London, yon once gave me expecta- 
tions that a reconciliation miglit soon take 
place. I had the misfortune to find those ex- 
pectations disappointed, and to be treated as 
tlie cause oC tlie mischief I was laboring to 
prev^ent. My consolation, under that ground- 
less and malevolent treatment, was that I re- 
tained the friendship of many wise and good 
men in that country, and, among the rest, 
some share in the regard of Lord Howe." The 
reference in Dr. Franklin's letter to his ac- 
quaintance with Lord Howe's sister, calls for 
a few words of explanation. 

The American statesman and philosopher 
was a great admirer of chess, and among his 
writings, is a paper on '' The Morals of Chess," 
in which certain wise rules are laid down, 
v^'hich will answer as well for the game of life 
as for the game of chess. 

While Franklin remained in England, he 
was approached by various influential persons, 
with a view of drawing from him some feasi- 
ble plan by which the political disturbances 
of the times might be settled. His Avell- 
known skill in the game was made the excuse 
for introducinoj him to a certain lad v. The 



KISS AND BE FRIENDS. 161 

lady proved to be a sister of Lord Howe, and 
Dr. Franklin, finding her of " very sensible 
conversation and pleasing behavior," agreed 
readily to renewed appointments to try her 
skill at chess, though at this time, he says, he 
" had not the least apprehension that any po- 
litical business could have any connection 
with this new acquaintance." 

At the second meeting with the lady, which 
occurred in December, 1774, she found a new 
avenue to the philosopher's good opinion, by 
conversing with him on a mathematical prob- 
lem. Then the conversation turned from 
mathematics to the Parliament just assembled. 

"What," said Mrs. Howe, "is to be done 
with this dispute between Great Britain and 
the Colonies ? I hope we are not to have 
civil war." 

"They ought to kiss and be friends," said 
the doctor ; " what can they do better ? Quar- 
relling can be of service to neither, but is ruin 
to both." 

" I have said," replied she, " that I wished 
government would employ you to settle the 
dispute for them — I am sure nobody could do 
it so well. Do not you think the thing is 
practicable ?" 

14* 



162 LIFE OP FKANKLIN. 

"Undoubtedly, madam, if the parties are 
disposed to reconciliation ; for the two coun- 
tries have really no clashing interests to differ 
about. It is rather a matter of punctilio, 
which two or three reasonable people might 
settle in half an hour. I thank you for the 
good opinion you are pleased to express of me, 
but the ministry will never think of employ- 
ing me in that good work ; they rather choose 
to abuse me." 

" Ay," said she, " they have behaved shame- 
fully to you — and, indeed, some of them are 
now ashamed of it themselves." 

Still, so much was Dr. Franklin in the 
habit of conversing, with different persons, 
about America and its affairs, he thought this 
but an incidental conversation. 

At the next interview, which was on Christ- 
mas evening, Mrs. Howe desired permission of 
him to send for her brother. Lord Howe, who, 
she stated, desired his acquaintance, adding 
that " he was just by." 

The doctor's eyes must, by this time, have 
been opened to these designed accidents, par- 
ticularly when, after a long conversation on 
American affairs. Lord Howe desired him to 
draw up some propositions, embodying the 



163 

terms on which he conceived a good under- 
standing between the countries might be ob- 
tained and established. These propositions, 
Lord Howe said, they might meet to consider 
either at his house, or at Franklin's, or where 
the doctor pleased. But as Franklin's visiting 
Lord Howe, or Lord Howe's visiting Franklin 
might, Lord Howe thought, occasion some 
speculation, it was concluded to be best to 
meet at his sister's, w^here there was a good 
pretence, with her family and friends, for his 
being often seen, as it was known they played 
together at chess. 

She " readily offered her house for that pur- 
pose." It is evident, from the circumstances, 
that such was the intention from the begin- 
ning. Ladies have often lent their houses for 
political purposes. None appear to have 
done it with better motives than the Hon. 
Mrs. Howe. Franklin has left this record of 
her, that he would have no secrets in a busi- 
ness of the nature of that in which he was 
engaged, which he would not confide in her 
prudence; for he "had never conceived a 
higher opinion of the discretion and excellent 
understanding of any woman on so short an 
acquaintance." And her residence was ac- 



164: LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

cordingly used as the place of conference 
while the consultations with Lord Howe con- 
tinued. The messages of Franklin and of 
Lord Howe, when written, passed through her 
hands, and when simply oral, were communi- 
cated by her. 

All these various interviews and arrange- 
ments proved fruitless in the end, and we 
have only said thus much concerning them, 
that our readers might understand why Lord 
Howe was disposed to be on such friendly 
terms with Dr. Franklin. 

General Sullivan having been taken pris- 
oner in the battle of Long Island, was carried 
on board Lord Howe's ship, and then set at 
liberty, on parole, bearing from his lordship 
an oral message to Congress, in which the de- 
sire was expressed that some of the members 
of that body might be appointed to hold a 
private interview with him. Dr. Franklin, 
John Adams, and Edward Rutledge were se- 
lected for the purpose. The interview took 
place accordingly, but nothing was accom- 
plished by it, and thus ended the labors of 
the commissioners, so far as his majesty's plan 
for receiving the acknowledgments of the 
rebels was concerned. 



CHAPTEK FOUKTEENTH. 

Proposing an alliance with France — Three commissioners ap- 
pointed — Dr. Franklin and his grandsons — Keception by the 
French — Takes lodgings at Passy — The venerable man — 
Honors paid to him — First interview of the commissioners 
with the French minister — Kindness in secret — Bolder meas- 
ures follow — England indignant — The old enemies at war — 
America neither to be dragooned nor bamboozled — Sharp 
points and blunt ones — Keception at court — Anecdotes — De- 
scription of Franklin by a German historian — " One Benny 
Franklin worth two kings !" 

THE American States being now an inde- 
pendent power, it was very proper that 
they should assume this character in relation 
to other governments. Moreover, as they 
greatly needed means for carrying on the war 
with Britain, and were able to offer a profita- 
ble commerce to those who would aid them 
with loans of money, they could hardly be con- 
sidered as begging for help, when an arrange- 
ment, thus mutually advantageous, was pro- 
posed. The subject was discussed in Congress, 
and three commissioners were appointed to 
proceed to France, and make an application 
of the kind we have mentioned. Dr. Frank- 



166 LTFE OF FRA.NKLIN. 

lin, Silas Dean, and Arthur Lee were selected 
for this important mission. 

Franklin left Philadelphia on the 26th of 
October, 1YT6, accompanied by his two grand- 
sons, William Temple Franklin, and Benja- 
min Franklin Bache. 

Although the ship in which they sailed was 
sometimes chased by British cruisers, they 
reached ISTantes on the 7th of December, and 
having tarried a few days to recruit, they 
arrived at Paris on the 21st. 

Dr. Franklin's visit to France was quite 
unexpected, but it was generally supposed 
that he had come on. important public busi- 
ness, and the friends of American liberty 
greeted him with lively expressions of joy. 
The report of his arrival was soon circulated 
throughout Europe ; and there were few who 
did not know the name of the distinguished 
philosopher, or who had not read some pro- 
ductions of his pen. 

He soon removed from Paris to Passy, a 
pleasant village about three miles oif, and 
took lodo:inojs in a house ^ belono^ino^ to M. 

* A modern traveller remarks that " the hotel wliicli Dr. 
Franklin occupied during his mission at the court of Louis 
XVI., remains still in existence, although it has undergone 



FIRST LIGHTNING- ROD. 167 

Leroy de Chaumont, a zealous friend to the 
American cause, and here he continued to 
reside until his linal departure from France. 

A French historian speaks of the distin- 
guished stranger in these glowing words : 

" By the effect which Franklin produced in 
France, one might say that he fulfilled his 
mission, not with a court, but with a free 
people. Diplomatic etiquette did not permit 
him often to hold interviews with the minis- 
ters, but he associated with the distinguished 
personages who directed public opinion. Men 
imagined they saw in him a sage of anticjuity, 
come back to give austere lessons and gener- 
ous examples to the moderns. They personi- 

many changes and alterations, since the day when, within its 
walls, our Minister to France pondered over the critical position 
of American affairs, and matured those wise plans which re- 
sulted in securing to America the alliance of the French, and 
in insuring and hastening her ultimate independence. The 
building is situated in Passy. 

" The first lightning-rod which was ever erected in France, and 
which was placed upon this house by Franklin himself, is still 
shown to visitors, and is very similar in appearance to those 
now in use. In a rear apartment of the building is preserved 
all the wood-work of Franklin's grand saloon. Doors, panels, 
and window frames in considerable numbers show that the sa- 
loon must have been of large dimensions, and the elaborate 
wood-carvings and the profusion of gilding indicate that it was 
sumptuously adorned." 



168 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

iied in him the republic, of which he was the 
representative and the legislator. 

"They regarded his virtues as those of his 
countrymen, and even judged of their physi- 
ognomy by the imposing and serene traits of 
his own. Happy was he who could gain ad- 
mittance to see him in the house which he oc- 
cupied at Passy. This venerable old man, it 
was said, joined to the demeanor of Phocion 
the spirit of Socrates. Courtiers were struck 
with his native dignity, and discovered in him 
the profound statesman. Young officers, im- 
patient to signalize themselves in another hem- 
isphere, came to interrogate him respecting 
the military condition of the Americans ; and 
when he spoke to them with deep concern and 
a manly frankness of the recent defeats which ^ 
had put his country in jeopardy, this only ex- 
cited in them a more ardent desire to join and 
assist the republican soldiers. 

"After this picture, it would be useless to 
trace the history of Franklin's negotiations 
with the court of France. His virtues and 
his renown negotiated for him ; and before the 
second year of his mission had expired, no one 
conceived it possible to refuse fleets and an 
army to the compatriots of Franklin." 



COUNT DE VERGENNES. 169 

Portraits of the American philosopher were 
everywhere to be seen, and vast numbers of 
medallions were sold, on which his head had 
been represented, as an ornament for snuff- 
boxes, or to be set in rings and bracelets. 

Congress had furnished the commissioners 
with the plan for a treaty of commerce, which 
they were to propose to the French govern- 
ment; and besides this they were to obtain 
from that court, at the expense of the United 
States, eight ships of war, ready for service, 
and to procure and forward military stores. 

On the 2Sth of December they were ad- 
mitted to an audience with the Count de Yer- 
gennes, the minister of foreign affairs ; and 
although the friendly relations then existing 
between France and England made it improp- 
er for him to say, in so many words, that the 
application of the rebellious Colonies should 
be granted, the reception was very gracious, 
and the assurances given most encouraging. 

We have not space to record all the steps 
which were taken before the French govern- 
ment came out decidedly as the ally of the 
United States. It is enough to say that 
France had resolved to help the Americans, 
and at fir§t large sums were secretly advanced 

15 



170 LIFE OF FK AN KLIN. 

for this purpose ; but after the capture of Bur- 
goyne's army, afiairs began to brighten, and 
on the 6th of February, 1778, a treaty of alli- 
ance was made with the new republic. We 
need not relate how much joy tidings of this 
event brought to those brave men who were 
fighting the battles of their country. Wash- 
ington appointed a day of thanksgiving and 
rejoicing amid all the discomforts of the army 
at Valley Forge. 

On the 20th of March, the American com- 
missioners were introduced to the king at 
Yersailles, and a French writer thus describes 
the -ceremony : 

" Dr. Franklin," he says, " was accompanied 
and followed by a great number of Americans, 
and individuals from various countries, whom 
curiosity had drawn together. His age, his 
venerable aspect, the simplicity of his dress, 
every thing fortunate and remarkable in the 
life of this American, contributed to excite 
public attention. The clapping of hands and 
other expressions of joy indicated that warmth 
of enthusiasm of which the French are more 
susceptible than any other people, and the 
charm of which is enhanced to the object of it 
by their politeness and agreeable manners. 



in 

After this audience, lie crossed the court on 
his way to the office of the minister of foreign 
affairs. The multitude waited for him in the 
l^assage, and greeted him with their acclama- 
tions. He met with a similar reception wher- 
ever he appeared in Paris." 

From tliat time both Franklin and the other 
American commissioners attended the court at 
Yersailles, on the same footing as the ambas- 
sadors of the European powers. Madame 
Campan says that, on these occasions, Frank- 
lin appeared in the dress of an American far- 
mer. " His straight, unpowdered hair, his 
round hat, his brown cloth coat, formed a sin- 
gular contrast with the laced and embroidered 
coats, and powdered and perfumed heads, of 
the courtiers of Yersailles." 

The rules of diplomatic etiquette did not 
permit the ambassadors of those sovereigns 
who had not recognized the independence of 
the United States to extend any official civili- 
ties to the ministers of the new republic. In 
private, however, they sought the acquaint- 
ance and society of Franklin, and among 
them were some of his most esteemed and 
intimate friends. An amusing incident, illus- 
trative of the reserve of the ambassadors in 



172 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

their official character occurred to Dr. Frank- 
lin some time after he became minister pleni- 
potentiary. The son of the empress of Russia, 
under the title of Count du Nord, arrived in 
Paris. He sent round his cards to the several 
foreign ambassadors, with his name and that 
of the Prince Bariatinski, the Russian ambas- 
sador, written upon them. By some accident 
the messenger left one of these cards at Dr. 
Franklin's house. As this was the first in- 
stance of the kind, he knew not precisely in 
what manner the civility was to be returned. 
He inquired of an old minister at court, well 
versed in the rules of etiquette, who told him 
that all he had to do was to stop his carriage 
at the ambassador's door, and order his name 
to be written in the porter's book. This cere- 
mony he performed accordingly. "I thought 
no more of the matter," said he, " till the ser- 
vant who brought the card came in great 
affliction, saying he was like to be ruined, and 
wishing to obtain from me a paper of I know 
not what kind, for I did not see him. In the 
afternoon came my friend M. Le Roy, who 
is also a friend of the prince's, telling me how 
much he (the prince) was concerned at the 
accident ; that both himself and the count had 



THE TWO OLD ENEMIES AT WAR. 173 

great personal regard for me and my charac- 
ter, but that our independence not yet being 
acknowledged by the court of Russia, it was 
impossible for him to permit himself to make 
me a visit as minister. I told M. Le Roy 
it was not my custom to seek such honors, 
though I was very sensible of them when con- 
ferred upon me ; that I should not have vol- 
untarily intruded a visit, and that, in this 
case, I had only done what I was informed 
the etiquette required of me ; but if it would 
be attended with any inconvenience to Prince 
Bariatinski, whom I much esteemed and re- 
spected, I thought the remedy was easy ; he 
had only to erase my name out of his book of 
visits received, and I would burn their card." 

Of course England was highly indignant 
that France should espouse the cause of the 
Colonies, and the result was that the two old 
enemies were soon at war again. 

Meanwhile, the British ministry being now 
seriously alarmed about the result of the 
American war, employed secret emissaries to 
sound Dr. Franklin as to the terms on which 
a reconciliation of the Colonies could be ef- 
fected. He, however, ridiculed the idea of 
any treaty with the mother country except on 

15* 



174 I,irE OF FRANKLIN. 

the basis of independence ; and exclaimed 
with warmth. "The Americans are neither 
to be dragoo7ied nor 'bamboozled out of their 
liberty !" 

The tone of his letters shows that he had 
got pretty much out of patience with King 
George and his cabinet. Thus, in writing to a 
friend, who had informed him that \hQ jpointed 
conductors which had been erected to protect 
the royal powder magazines, from lightning, 
had been exchanged by some Stubborn English 
philosopher, for blunt ones — out of a spirit of 
jealous opposition to him. he quietly remarks : 
" I have never entered into any controversy in 
defence of my philosophical opinions : I leave 
them to take their chance in the world. If 
they are rights truth and experience will sup- 
port them ; if wrong, they ought to be refuted 
and rejected. Disj)utes are apt to sour one's 
temjDer, and disturb one's quiet. I have no 
private interest in the reception of my inven- 
tions by the world, having never made, nor 
proposed to make, the least profit by any of 
them. The king's changing his pointed con- 
ductors for blunt ones is, therefore, a matter of 
small importance to me. If I had a wish 
about it, it would be that he had rejected 



AT THE FRENCH COURT. 175 

them altogether as ineffectual. For it is only 
since he thought himself and family safe from 
the thunder of heaven, that he dared to use 
his own thuilder in destroying his innocent 
subjects."^ 

We close the chapter with a description of 
Dr. Franyin at the. French court, by a. Ger- 
man historian, Schlosser of Heidelberg. 

" Franklin's appearance in the Paris salons, 
even before he was presented at court or be- 
gan to negotiate, otherwise than through third 
parties, with the minister, was an event of 
great importance to the whole of Europe. 
Paris, at that time, set the fashion for the en- 
tire civilized world in Europe, and the admi- 
ration of Franklin, carried to a degree ap- 
proaching folly, produced a remarkable effect 
on the fashionable circles of Paris. His dress, 
the simplicity of his external appearance, the 



* An English epigram was published on Franklin, alluding 
to Sir Joseph Banks and the trick by which he made himself, 
with the influence of George III., president of the Eoyal Society. 
" While you, great George, for safety hunt. 
And sharp conductors change for blunt, 
The empire's out of joint: 
Franklin a wiser course pursues. 
And all your thunder fearless views, 
By keeping to the point." 



170 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

friendly meekness of the old man, and the ap- 
parent humility of the Quaker, procured for 
Freedom a mass of votaries among the court 
circles who used to be alarmed at its coarse- 
ness and unsophisticated truths. 

^' Franklin neither mistook himself nor the 
people with whom he had to deal. He knew 
mankind thoroughly, and was well aware how 
to use the Paris admiration of himself, and 
how to deal with the salons. In his private 
correspondence he describes the life in Paris 
and the intense worship which he received on 
all hands, in a comical, though masterly style. 
But as an American merchant, he took every 
advantage that a skilful dealer would derive 
from the fascination of his customers. If we 
compare the descriptions given by Lacratelle, 
Lafayette, Segur, and others, of the noise made 
by Franklin, with the private letters which he 
wrote himself from Passy to America, we shall 
see what miserable bunglers in diplomacy the 
most adroit of the Parisians were, when com- 
pared with the old printer. They were led by 
long practice in it as an art or science ; he fol- 
lowed nature and his own instincts, which 
were never wrong and were never exagger- 
ated. 



DR. FKANKLIn's autograph. 177 

" Nevertheless, so long as the war in Amer- 
ica was not successful, he found that his nego- 
tiations made but slow and halting progress."* 



* Dr. Sprague, of Albany, who has collected a great number 
of autographs, made application, some time since, to a certain 
gentleman for that of Dr. Franklin. " Oh you have one al- 
ready," said the person referred to. " No matter," replied the 
determined collector. " I want it for exchange. One Benny 
Franklin in Europe is worth two kings ,'"' 

This is one of the happiest compliments ever paid to the 
Boston printer's boy. 



CHAPTEK FIFTEENTH. 

Philadelphia taken by the British — Franklin's honse robbed — 
Another source of troiible— William Franklin, the tory — 
Sketch of liis career — Obtuseness of feeling— Matter-of-fact 
letter on his mother's death — Dr. Franklin's distress at the 
course pursued by his son — Mention made of him in his will 
— Lessons in French — Applauding in the wrong place — " The 
spectators do not pay I" — Elkanah Watson's recollections of 
Franklin — French dinner-party — Franklin's portrait in high 
company — Playing on the armonica — Weighing the chances 
of war — Ecstasy of joy — Paris illuminated. 

OTHILE Dr. Franklin and his colleagues 
I f are attending to public business at 
Paris, some things are taking place in Amer- 
ica, in which he will feel some interest when 
he hears of them. 

Congress had continued to sit in Philadel- 
phia until the autumn of 1776, wlien the ap- 
proach of the enemy obliged them to retire to 
Baltimore. The British troops took possession 
of the city on the 26th of September, 1777, 
and tliey remained there until the 18th of 
June, in the following year.^ 

* Those ijitcrested in such things will find some curious in- 
formation about the occupation of Philadelphia by the British, 
in Watson's Annals, vol. ii., p. 287. 



LETTER FROM MRS. BA.CHE. 179 

• 

Mrs. Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin, oc- 
cupied his house when the enemy approached 
Phihidelphia. She left the city, and took 
refuge witli a friend in the country. After 
her return in July, she thus wrote to lier fa- 
ther. The reference to Andre, who afterwards 
played so conspicuous a part in the treasona- 
ble plots of Arnold, adds to the interest of the 
letter. '' I found your house and furniture 
upon my return tdtown, in much better order 
than I had any reason to expect from the 
hands of such a rapacious crew ; they stole 
and carried off with them some of your musi- 
cal instruments ; viz., a Welsh harp, ball harp, 
the set of tuned bells which were in a box, 
viol-de-gambs, all the spare armoiuca glasses, 
and one or two spare cases ; your armonica is 
safe. They took, likewise, the few books that 
were left behind, the chief of which were 
Temple's school-books, and the history of the 
arts and sciences in French, which is a great 
loss to the public ; some of your electric ap- 
paratus is missing also. A Captain Andre 
also took with him the picture of you which 
hung in the dining-room. The rest of the 
pictures are safe, and met with no damage, 
except the frame of Alfred, which is broke to 



180 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

pieces ; in sliort, considering the hurry in 
whicli we were obh'ged to leave the town, Sul- 
ly's then situation, and the number of things 
we consequentl}^ left behind, we are much 
better off than I had any reason to expect." 

But Dr. Franklin had another source of 
trouble which weighed upon him much more 
heavily, than the mere loss of property. I 
refer to the course pursued by his son with 
reference to the quarrel between the Colonies 
and the mother country. It is hard to realize 
that any member of Dr. Franklin's family 
could have been a tory. 

William, his only son, was born in 1731. 
He was postmaster of Philadelphia for a short 
time, and served as clerk of the House of Rep- 
resentatives of Pennsylvania. He was also a 
captain in the French and Indian war, and 
fought bravely under Abercrombie, at Ticon- 
deroga. Towards the close of that war, he 
visited England with his father, and through 
the influence of the Earl of Bute and Lord 
Fairfax, he received the appointment of gov- 
ernor of New Jersey. 

William Franklin is the "Billy" so often 
spoken of in Mrs. Franklin's letters to her 
husband. He seems to have been a plain, 



LETTER FROM HIS SON. 181 

honest, business-like sort of young man, but 
apparently somewhat obtuse in matters of feel- 
ing. The following account of his mother's 
funeral says little for his heart or his fancy. 
The hint that his father's non-arrival may have 
hastened her death, is evidently nothing but a 
piece of clumsy blundering. 

''Hon'd Father: — I came here on Thurs- 
day last to attend the funeral of my poor old 
mother, who died the Monday noon preceding. 
Mr. Bache sent his clerk express to me on the 
occasion, who reached Amboy on Tuesday 
evening, and I set out early the next morning, ^ 
but the weather being very severe and snow- 
ing hard, I was not able to reach here till 
about four o'clock on Thursday afternoon, 
about half an hour before the corpse was to 
be moved for interment. Mr. Bache and I 
followed as chief mourners ; your old friend 
H. Roberts and several other of your friends 
were carriers, and a very respectable number 
of the inhabitants were at the funeral. I don't 
mention the particulars of her illness, as you 
will have a much fuller account from Mr. 
Bache than I am able to give. Her death 
was no more than might be reasonably expect- 
ed after the paralytic stroke she received some 

16 



182 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

time ago, whicli greatly affected her memory 
and understanding. She told me when I took 
leave of her on my removal to Amboy, that 
she never expected to see you unless you re- 
turned this winter, for that she was sure she 
should not live till next summer. I heartily 
wish you had happened to have come over in 
the fall, as I think her disappointment in that 
respect preyed a good deal on her spirits." 

When the difficulties between England and 
the Colonies were coming to a crisis, William 
Franklin threw his whole influence in favor of 
loyalty, and endeavored to prevent the legisla- 
tive assembly of 'New Jersey from sanctioning 
the proceedings of the General Congress at 
Philadelphia. The efforts, however, did but 
little to stay the tide of popular sentiment in 
favor of resistance to tyranny, and soon in- 
volved him in difficulty. He was deposed 
from oflice by tke whigs to give place to Wil- 
liam Livingston, and sent a prisoner to Con- 
necticut, where he remained about two years 
in East Windsor, in the house of Captain 
Ebenezer Grant, near where the Theological 
Seminary now stands. In 1778 he was ex- 
changed, and soon after went to England. 
There he spent the remainder of his life, re- 



FEELINGS TOWARDS HIS SON. 183 

ceiving a pension from tlie British government 
for the losses he had sustained by his fidelity. 
He died in 1812, at the age of 82. 

*As might be expected, his opposition to the 
cause of liberty, so dear to the heart of his 
father, produced an estrangement between 
them. For years they had no intercourse. 
When, in 1784, the son wrote to his father, in 
his reply. Dr. Franklin says, "Nothing has 
ever hurt me so much, and affected me with 
such keen sensations, as to find myself desert- 
ed in my old age by my only son ; and not 
only deserted, but to find him taking up arms 
against me in a cause wherein my good fame, 
fortune, and all were at stake." In his will 
also, he alludes to the part his son acted. 
After making him some bequests, he adds : 
" The part he acted against me in the last war, 
which is of public notoriety, will account for 
my leaving him no more of an estate he en- 
deavored to deprive me of." The patriotism 
of the father stands forth all the brighter when 
contrasted with the desertion of the son. 

But to return from this digression. 

Franklin spoke French but indifferently, 
and his pronunciation was defective, although 
he couhl read it very welh He told John 



184 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

Adams that he was wholly inattentive to the 
grammar. Madame Geoffrin, to whom, in his 
visit to France, in 1767 or 1769, he brought a 
letter from David Hume, reported that ^le 
could not initiate him into the language. 
Notwithstanding his advanced age when he 
established himself at Passy, he lived to make 
a great improvement in speaking French, and 
to enjoy it perfectly in the hearing. In the 
year 1779, he read a paper on the Aurora 
Borealis to the Koyal Academy of Sciences at 
Paris, in which he traced the phenomenon to 
electrical agencies. 

At times he would be led into amusing mis- 
apprehensions, through his difficulty in under- 
standing the language when uttered with 
rapidity. On one occasion, being present at a 
sitting of the Lyceum or the Academy during 
the delivery of a lecture, and not distinctly 
understanding the French that was spoken, he 
thought, in order not to be wanting in polite- 
ness, that every time he saw Madame de Bou- 
flers give signs of approbation, he w^ould ap- 
plaud ; but he afterwards found that without 
knowing it, he had applauded most vigorously 
those passages which had been complimentary 
to himself. 



ANECDOTE OF FRANKMN'. 185 

We quote the following anecdote from the 
'• Literary Correspondence of Grim and Dide- 
rot," which we believe has never appeared out 
of its French dress before. It is dated, July, 
1778. 

" Dr. Franklin speaks little, and at the 
beginning of his sojourn in Paris, when France 
still refused to declare herself openly in favor 
of the Colonies, he spoke still less. At a din- 
ner of literary men, one of the company in 
order to start the conversation, began by say- 
ing to him, ' It must be acknowledged, sir, 
that it is a great and superb spectacle that 
America offers to us to-day.' ' Yes,' modestly 
replied the Philadelphia doctor, ' hut the spec- 
tators do not pay. "^ " 

As we have devoted this chapter, thus far, 
to a variety of topics, serving as the smaller 
rivulets which meet together and help to form 
the main current of history, it will be best to 
conclude it in the same way. 

Some of the most interesting notices of Dr. 
Franklin's residence in France are found in 
the memoirs of Elkanah Watson, and we shall 
select a passage here and there. In 1779, we 
find him dining, by invitation, with M. Le 
Roy de Chaumont, in company with the 

16* 



186 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

American philosopher. "We entered a spa- 
cious room," says Mr. Watson, "I following 
the doctor, where several well-dressed persons 
(to my unsophisticated American eyes, gentle- 
men) bowed to us profoundly. These were 
servants. A folding-door opened at our ap- 
proach, and presented to my view a brilliant 
assembly, who all greeted the wise old man in 
the most cordial and affectionate manner. He 
introduced me as a young American, just ar- 
rived. One of the young ladies approached 
him with the familiarity of a daughter, tapped 
him kindly on the cheek, and called him ' Papa 
Franklin.' I w^as enraptured with the ease 
and freedom exhibited in the table intercourse 
in France. Instead of the cold ceremony and 
formal compliments to which I had been ac- 
customed on such occasions, here all appeared 
at ease, and well sustained. Some were amus- 
ing themselves with music ; others with sing- 
ing. Some were waltzing; and others gath- 
ered in little groups in conversation. At the 
table, the ladies and gentlemen were mino-led 
together, and joined in cheerful conversation, 
each selecting the delicacies of various courses, 
and drinking of delicious light wines, but with 
neither toasts nor lieulths. The lady of the 



EXTRACTS FROM WATSON's MEMOIRS. l87 

house, instead of bearing the burden and in- 
convenience of superintending the duties of 
the table, here participates alike with others 
in its enjoyment. Ko gentlemen, I was told, 
would be tolerated in France in monopolizing 
the conversation of the table with discussions 
of politics or religion, as is frequently the case 
in America. A cup of coffee ordinarily ter- 
minates the dinner." 

Mr. Watson continues on another page : "In 
a gallery of paintings in the Louvre, I was 
much gratified in perceiving the portrait of 
Franklin, near those of the king and queen, 
placed there as a mark of distinguished respect, 
and, as was understood, in conformity with 
royal directions. Few foreigners have been 
presented to the court of St. Cloud who have 
acquired so much popularity as Dr. Franklin. 
I have seen the populace attend his carriage, 
in the manner they followed the king's. His 
venerable figure, the ease of his manners, 
formed in an intercourse of fifty years with the 
world, his benevolent countenance, and his 
fame as a philosopher, all tended to excite love, 
and to command influence and respect. He 
had attained, by the exercise of these qualities, 
a powerful interest in the feelings of the beau- 



188 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

tiful queen of France. She held at that time 
a powerful political influence. The exercise 
of that influence, adroitly directed by Frank- 
lin, tended to produce the acknowledgment of 
our independence, and the subsequent efficient 
measures pursued by France in its support." 

The next extract, although somewhat longer, 
is too interesting to be omitted : 

" Soon after my return to Paris" (he is writ- 
ing in 1781), " I dined and spent the evening 
with the immortal Franklin. Arriving at an 
early hour, I discovered the philosopher in a 
distant room reading, in the exact posture in 
which he is represented by an admirable en- 
graving from his portrait ; his left arm resting 
upon the table, and his chin supported by the 
thumb of his right hand. His mingling in 
the most reflned and exalted society of both 
hemispheres had communicated to his manners 
a blandness and urbanity well sustained by his 
native grace and elegance of deportment. His 
venerable locks waving over his shoulders, and 
the dignity of his personal appearance, com- 
manded reverence and respect, and yet his 
manners were so pleasant and fascinating, that 
one felt at ease and unrestrained in his pres- 
ence. He inquired whether I knew he was a 



PERFORMING ON THE ARMONICA. 189 

musician ; and he conducted me across the 
room to an instrument of his own invention, 
which he called the armonica. The music was 
produced by a peculiar combination of hemi- 
spherical glasses. At my solicitation, he played 
upon it, and performed some Scotch pastorales 
with great effect. The exhibition was truly 
striking and interesting : to contemplate an 
eminent statesman, in his seventy-sixth year, 
and the most distinguished philosopher of the 
age, performing a simple pastorale, on an in- 
strument of his own construction. The inter- 
est was not diminished by the fact that this 
philosopher, who was guiding the intellects of 
thousands ; that this statesman, an object of 
veneration in the metropolis of Europe, and 
who was influencing the destiny of nations, had 
been an untutored printer's boy in America. 

'' Our conversation during the evening was 
turned to the all-absorbing subject of the great 
combination of the French and American 
forces against Cornwallis. Our last informa- 
tion left the affairs in Virginia in a precarious 
and doubtful posture. De Grasse had entered 
the Chesapeake ; Washington and Kocham- 
beau had united their forces ; De Barras, with 
seven sail of the line, had left Khode Island to 



190 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

join De Grasse. The Britisli fleet had sailed 
from 'New York with ten thousand troops to 
relieve Cornwallis, and it was reported that a 
reinforcement had departed from England for 
New York. Thus stood the general aspect of 
our intelligence, at a crisis which seemed to 
involve the existence of a young empire. We 
weighed probabilities, balanced possible vicis- 
situdes, dissected maps. We feared that the 
British fleet might intercept De Barras at the 
Capes of Virginia, and thus retrieve its supe- 
riority over De Grasse, attack, and overwhelm 
him, and, landing their army, defeat and break 
up the combinations of Washington. The phi- 
losophy and self-possession even of Franklin 
seemed almost to abandon him. The vibra- 
tions of hope and fear occupied his mind, and 
still I could perceive in him a deep conviction 
of a successful issue to the operations of Wash- 
ington. I left him at night in the company of 
Dr. Bancroft, an American, residing in Lon- 
don, but an ardent whig, and I returned to 
Paris, in deep despondency, sighing over the 
miseries of our bleeding country. 

" At dawn the next morning I was aroused 
by a thundering rap at my door. It brought 
me a circular from Dr. Franklin, struck oflf by 



NOTE FROM COUNT DE VERGENNES. 191 

• 

a machine somewhat similar to the copying 
machines of the present day, and with what 
unspeakable thankfulness and thrilling inter- 
est I read its contents ! It was as follows : 

" ' Copy of a note from Count de Yergennes 
to Dr. Franklin, dated Yersailles, 19th IsTov., 
1781—11 o'clock at night: 

" ' Sir : I cannot better express my grati- 
tude to you, for the news you often communi- 
cate to me, than by informing you that the 
Due de Lausan arrived this evening, with the 
agreeable news that the combined armies of 
France and America have forced Cornwallis 
to capitulate. The English garrison came out 
of Yorktown the 19th of October, with honors 
of war, and laid down their arms as prisoners. 
About six thousand troops, eighteen hundred 
sailors, twenty-two stand of colors, and one 
hundred and seventy pieces of cannon — 
seventy-five of which are brass — are the tro- 
phies which signalize this victory ; besides, a 
ship of fifty guns was burnt, also a frigate, and 
a great number of transports. 

" ' I have the honor, &c., 

'^ ' De Yergennes. 

" ' To his Excellency Dr. FpwAnklin.' 



192 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

• 

" The next day I waited on Dr. Franklin, 
together with many American and French 
gentlemen, to offer our united congratulations. 
He appeared in an ecstasy of joy, observing, 
' There is no parallel in history of two entire 
armies being captured from the same enemy 
in any one war.' 

" The delight and the rejoicings of all classes 
of the people were excessive. Paris was illu- 
minated for three successive nights. On my 
return to Nantes, along the banks of the Loire, 
I found all thcj cities in a blaze of illumina 
tion, and Nantes in the midst of it on my ar- 
rival." 



CHAPTER SIXTEE:N'TH. 

Thoughtful arrangement to prevent Captain Cook's vessel from 
being disturbed— Less about Lafayette than his goodness 
merits — Correspondence upon the presentation of a sword — 
Another character, and quite a different one — "The Age of 
Keason" — Franlilin's noble letter to Paine— Publication of 
the miserable work — Paine becomes an object of abhorrence 
to all good men — His death, as described by an eye-witness — 
An additional antidote for the poison — '* I would give worlds, 
had the 'Age ofEeason' never been published!" — Twofold 
warnings. 

ALTHOUGH Dr. Franklin had been so 
busy with public affairs, his interest in 
scientific pursuits had not abated, and he was 
always ready to promote whatever could be 
useful to mankind. 

When Captain Cook's vessel was about to 
return from a voyage of discovery, he ad- 
dressed a circular letter to the commanders of 
American cruisers, in his character of minister 
plenipotentiary, requesting them to allow the 
famous English seaman to pass unmolested, 
and to treat him and his crew with civility 
and kindness. 

The British government did not forget this 

17 



194 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

act of magnanimity, but when Cook's voyage 
was published, a handsome copy was sent to 
Dr. Franklin, by the Board of Admiralty, with 
the approbation of the king. 

In all that we have said, thus far, in regard 
to the relations between France and the 
United States, the name of the good and the 
gallant Lafayette has scarcely been mentioned. 
This silence has not been owing to any want 
of appreciation of his merits, and of his claim 
to the gratitude of those whose liberties he 
helped to gain, but because our narrative is 
necessarily a brief one, and circumstances 
which would call us aside from its chief design 
are seldom introduced. 

Lafayette joined our Revolutionary army in 
1Y7T, and with his purse, sword, and political 
influence with the French court, he rendered 
most important services. In the autumn of 
the following year, when he obtained leaTe of 
absence, and returned to his native land, Con- 
gress, in connection with the resolution for 
granting him a furlough, also resolved : " That 
the minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States of America at the court of Yersailles 
be directed to cause an elegant sword, with 
proper devices, to be made, and presented, in 



LAFAYETTE'S SWOED. 195 

the name of the United States to Lafayette.*" 
In accordance with this resolution, Dr. Frank- 
lin procured the sword, and sent it to the 
marquis, with the following complimentary 
letter. 

Passy, 24th August, 1779. 

Stk : The Congress, sensible of your merit 
towards the United States, but unable ade- 
quately to reward it, determined to present 
you with a sword as a small mark of their 
grateful acknowledgment. They directed it 
to be ornamented with suitable devices. Some 
of the principal actions of the war, in which 
you distinguished yourself by your bravery 
and conduct, are, therefore, represented upon 
it. These, with a few emblematic figures, all 
admirably well executed, make its principal 
value. By the help of the exquisite artists 
France affords, I find it easy to express every 
thing but the sense we have of your worth, 
and our obligations to you. For this, figures, 
and even words, are found insufficient. I 
therefore only add, that, with the most per- 
fect esteem, I have the honor to be, &c., 

B. Franklin. 

P. S. My grandson goes to Havre with the 



196 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

sword, and will have the honor of presenting 
it to you. 

The marquis in reply, after acknowledging 
the presentation of the sword, said : 

" In some of the devices I cannot help find- 
ing too honorable a reward for those slight 
services which, in concert with my fellow-sol- 
diers, and under the god-like American hero's 
orders, I had the good luck to render. The 
sio:ht of these actions, where I was a Avitness 
of American bravery and patriotic spirit, I 
shall ever enjoy with that pleasure which be- 
comes a heart glowing with love for the na- 
tion, and the most ardent zeal for their glory 
and happiness. Assurances of gratitude, 
which I beg leave to present to your excel- 
lency, are much too inadequate to express my 
feelings, and nothing but those sentiments 
may properly acknowledge your kindness 
towards me. The polite manner in which Mr. 
Franklin was pleased to deliver that estimable 
sword, lays me under great obligations to him, 
and demands my particular thanks. With 
the most perfect respect, I have the honor to 

be, &c., 

" La Fayette." 



LETTER TO THOMAS PAINE. 197 

We have now another character to intro- 
duce, and we are disposed to beg pardon of 
the good marquis, for placing l^s name in the 
same chapter even, with a person so odious as 
Thomas Paine. 

'This miserable man, it must be acknowl- 
edged, deserves some credit for those stirring 
pamphlets which he wrote, rousing the minds 
of the outraged Colonists to assert their rights ; 
but the United States afterwards paid him 
well for all that he had done. 

When tlie war was over, and he needed 
some other excitement to occupy his restless 
spirit, his vanity prompted him to publish a 
work against the Christian religion. Before 
committing it to the press, he submitted the 
manuscript to Franklin for his insjDcction and 
opinion, and received the following reply. It 
was written about the year 1788, while the 
doctor was yet in Paris. 

Dear Sir : 

I have read your manuscript with some at- 
tention. By the argument it contains against 
a particular Providence, though you allow 
a general Providence, you strike at the 
foundations of all religion. For without the 

17* 



198 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

belief of a Providence, that takes cognizance 
of, guards, and guides, and may favor particu- 
lar persons, tljere is no motive to worship a 
Deity, to fear His displeasure, or to pray for 
His protection. I will not enter into any dis- 
cussion of your principles, though you seem*to 
desire it. At j)resent I shall only give you 
my opinion, that, though your reasonings are 
subtile, and may prevail with some readers, 
you will not succeed so as to change the gen- 
eral sentiments of mankind on that subject, 
and the consequence of printing this piece will 
be a great deal of odium drawn upon your- 
self, mischief to you, and no benefit to others. 
He that spits against the wind, spits in hig own 
face. But were you to succeed, do you im- 
agine any good would be done by it? You 
yourself may find it easy to live a virtuous 
life, without the assistance afforded by reli- 
gion ; you having a clear perception of the 
advantages of virtue, and the disadvantages ot 
vice, and possessing, a strength of resolution 
sufficient to enable you to resist common 
temptations. But think how great a portion 
of mankind consists of weak and ignorant men 
and women, and of inexperienced, inconsider- 
ate youth of both sexes, who have need of the 



199 



motives of religion to restrain them from vice, 
to support their virtue, and retain them in the 
practice of it till it becomes habitual^ which 
is the great point for its security. And per- 
haps yon are indebted to her originally, that 
is, to your religious education, for the habits 
of virtne upon which you now justly value 
yourself. You might easily display your ex- 
cellent talents of reasoning upon a less hazard- 
ous subject, and thereby obtain a rank with 
our most distinguished authors. For among 
us it is not necessary, as among the Hotten- 
tots, that a youth, to be raised into the com- 
pany of men, should prove his manhood by 
beating his mother. I would advise you, 
therefore, not to attempt unchaining the tiger, 
but to burn this piece before it is seen by any 
other person ; whereby you will save yourself 
a great deal of mortification by the enemies it 
may raise against you, and perhaps a good 
deal of regret and repentance. If men are so 
wicked with religion^ what would they be if 
without it. 

I intend this letter itself as a proof of my 
friendship, and, therefore, add no professions 
to it ; but subscribe simply yours, 

B. Fkankltn. 



200 LIFE OF FEANKLIN. 

Happy would it have been for Paine had he 
heeded this kindly warning. But he preferred 
to follow his own inclinations, and the wretch- 
ed publication was given to the world. This 
mad assault upon Christianity was followed 
by a letter to General Washington, heaping 
abuse on his spotless name. After this, Paine 
was despised and avoided by all, and soon 
abandoned himself to hard drink, and became 
too disgusting an object to look upon. He 
died on the 8tli of June, 1809, but not until he 
had experienced the fearful horrors of remorse. 
"During my residence in the city of New 
York," says Bishop Eastburn, of Massachu- 
setts, " one of my parishioners was the phy- 
sician who attended, in his last illness, the 
famous Thomas Paine. And I had it from 
the lips of that person, that this noted blas- 
phemer, not many hours before his departure, 
and while in the full possession of liis mental 
faculties, was overheard by him calling repeat- 
edly for help on tliat very Lord Jesus Christ, 
whom it had. been the object of all his pre- 
vious life to hold up to scorn and execration. 
His end was the veiy consummation of fear 
and foreboding." 

The following impressive statement is taken 



DEA.TH-BED OF PAINE. 201 

from the Presbyterian. It gives the testimo- 
ny of another eye-witness. "There is now in 
Philadelphia a lady who saw Paine on his 
dying bed. Her intelligence and high char- 
acter entitle her statement to the most implicit 
credence. She informs us that Paine's physi- 
cian also attended Ifer father's family in the 
city of IS^ew York, where in her youth she 
resided, and that on one occasion while at 
their house, he proposed to her to accompany 
him to the infidel's dwelling, which, she did. 
It was a miserable hovel, in what was then 
Paisin-street. She had often seen Paine be- 
fore, a drunken profligate, wandering about 
the streets, from whom the children fled in 
terror. On entering the room where he lay, 
she found him stretched on his miserable bed, 
clad in a flannel shirt, with a red cap drawn 
over his head. His visage was lean and hag- 
gard, and wore the expression of great agony. 
He expressed himself without reserve as to his 
fears of death, and repeatedly called on the 
name of Jesus, begging for mercy. The scene 
was impressive and appalling, and was en- 
graven so deeply on her mind that nothing 
could obliterate it. The statement of the 
physician, which afterwards appeared in print, 



202 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

entirely corresj)onds with what she saw and 
heard. We have, therefore, the testimony of 
two credible witnesses, that the wretched man 
who had spent his life in reviling the Christian 
religion, and poisoning the minds of his fellow- 
creatures with his infidel sentiments, renounced 
them in his dying hour,«and called upon that 
Saviour whom he had despised, to save him 
from the terrible retribution which he felt was 
about to follow his infamous life. Conscience 
had already begun the work, which he had 
but too good reason to fear would be continued 
after death by the worm that never dies. 
However much Paine's followers may applaud 
his writings, his dying hours refute them all." 

As so much mischief has been done by 
Paine's " Age of Reason," it can hardly be 
considered time wasted, to furnish an antidote 
for the poison. We therefore add another 
piece of information, derived from a trustwor- 
thy source. " A few weeks since," writes the 
correspondent of a leading journal, " a fact in 
the- life of Thomas Paine reminded me, most 
forcibly, of the importance of having all our 
actions good and useful. It occurred just 
after the publication of his ' Age of Reason.' 

" My uncle, J. B., then a youth of nineteen 



THE "age of reason." 203 

years, was predisposed to skepticism, and had 
for a long time desired to read Paine's works. 
Having been to Sing Sing, 'N. Y., on business, 
the innkeeper, as he was about to return, 
observed to him that there was a gentleman 
who wished to get a ride; and if he would 
carry him, he would speak to him. Mr. K. 
inquired "who he was. The innkeeper replied, 
' It is Mr. Tliomas Paine, recently returned 
from England.' This highly pleased Mr. K., 
for he had long desired an interview with him. 
Mr. Paine took his seat by his side, and they 
rode away. Their conversation immediately 
turned upon his recently published theological 
works. Mr. K. having cherished a hope that 
the claims of the Bible might be proved null 
and void, began to congratulate him on the 
anticipated success of the ' Age of Reason.' 
Paine inquired after its popularity, wishing to 
know how it was received, w^hat his neighbors 
thought of it, &c., and drew out of him all he 
felt disposed to say. After satisfying himself 
with these inquiries, he took a long breath, 
and made, subsequently, the following reply : 
' Well, sir, I am sorry that that work ever 
went to press. I wrote it more for my own 
amusement and to see what I could do than 



204 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

any design of benefiting the world. / would 
give worlds^ said lie, with great emphasis, 
' had I. them at my command^ had the "Age of 
Reason" never heen published! No, sir, I 
regret the publication of that work exceeding- 
ly. It can never do the world any good, and 
its sarcastic style will, doubtless, lead thou- 
sands to esteem lightly the only boolrof correct 
morals that has ever blessed the world. I 
would advise you,' continued Paine, turning 
his eye to meet Mr. K.'s, 'not to read that 
work.' At this, Mr. K. said he ' was perfectly 
surprised.' He knew not what to say. ' What !' 
thouglit he, ' tlie author of a book so notorious, 
repudiating all faith in his own work ! What 
confidence can he expect others to have in it, 
if he has none himself? If Paine himself can- 
not rely on his writings, how shall other men 
dare to trust themselves in the belief of them ? 
If the " As^e of Peason" will not answer for 
its author, it will not answer for me, or for any 
other person in the world.' Mr. K. took up 
with Paine's advice, ' not to read that work,' 
for he felt no concern to pore over three or 
four hundred pages, simply to fill his mind 
with an acknowledged lie, and from that time 
his tendencies to skepticism left him." 



TWO FEARFUL WARNINGS. 206 

I have seen boys get together in the evening 
after a clay's labor, and sit and tell stories. 
One relates a wonderful exploit, and another 
is reminded of an achievement, and another 
has a heroic deed to tell of, and so they go 
round, each one vieing with the other in at- 
tempts to tell the biggest story. This must 
have been the real heart of Paine when he sat 
down and took his pen to traduce and belie 
the sacred volume. He felt like making out a 
good story, which he in his heart did not 
believe. Notice, then, two fearful warnings : 

1. All those who read and believe Tom 
Paine's " Age of Reason," are more credulous* 
than the noted author himself, for he had no 
confidence in his own story. 

2. An iniidel may begin his suffering in this 
world for the publication of his wicked docs 
trines. What a regret fills the poor man's 
mind! " I would give worlds, had I them at 
my command, if the ' Age of Reason' had 
never been published!" Oh! you who are 
tempted to reject. the record God gave of his 
Son, beware ! 

18 



CHAPTER SEYEjSTTEENTH. 

Some leading events briefly noted — Dr. Franklin requests to 
be recalled home — After waiting three years longer, the peti- 
tion is granted— Bidding farewell to France— Meets with 
friends at Southampton — Landing at Philadelphia amidst the 
ringing of bells, and other demonstrations of joy — Action of 
the General Assembly— Chosen President of Pennsylvania — 
"I am got into my niclie, after being kept out of it twenty- 
four years" — A delegate to a most important convention — 
Franklin's speech in defence of daily prayers — " God governs 
in the atfairs of men" — Signing the Constitution— The sua 
behind the president's chair. 



W 



E must briefly note tlie leading events 
connected with Dr. Franklin's negotia- 
tions abroad, and then follow him once more 
to Philadelphia. 

The British ministry having failed in tlieir 
efforts to bring about a reconciliation with the 
Colonies, afterwards attempted to separate 
America from France, and to excite a jealousy 
between tlie two countries ; but all these plans 
were defeated by the firmness and prudence 
of the American commmissioners. 

When the treaty was made w^th France, of 
which we have spoken before, Dr. Franklin 



DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA. 207 

was appointed minister plenipotentiary to the 
court of that country ; and towards the end of 
the war, he w^as named one of the commis- 
sioners for negotiating the peace with England. 

At the close of this important business (No- 
vember, 1782), he requested to be recalled, 
after fifty years spent in the service of his 
country. This petition was not granted until 
1785. Daring the interval, he negotiated two 
treaties, one with Sweden, and another with 
Prussia. 

When Franklin seriously entered upon his 
pre'parations for returning to America, many 
who revered and loved him, began to express 
their sincere regrets. One after another they 
took their leave of him, while the principal 
personages of the court testified their respect 
and ojood wishes. " I have learned with much 
concern," said Count de Yergennes, " of your 
retiring, and x)f your approaching departm-e 
for America. You cannot doubt that the 
regrets which you will leave \vill be propor- 
tionate to the consideration you so justly en- 
joy. I can assure you, sir, that the esteem 
the king entertains for you does not leave you 
any thing to wish, and that his majesty will 
learn with real satisfaction, that your fellow- 



208 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

citizens have rewarded, in a manner worthy of 
you, the important services that yon have ren- 
dered them. I beg, sir, that you will pre- 
serve for me a share in your remembrance, 
and never doubt the sincerity of the interest I 
take in your happiness." The Marquis de 
Castris, minister of marine, wrote to him : '' I 
was not apprised, until within a few hours, of 
the arrangements you have made for your de- 
parture. Had I been informed of it sooner, I 
should have proposed to the king to order a 
frigate to convey you to your own country, in 
such a manner as would mark the considera- 
tion whicli you have acquired by your distin- 
guished services in France, and the particular 
esteem whicli his majesty entertains for you." 
His bodily infirmities were such that he 
could not bear the motion of a carriage. He 
left Passy on the 12th of July, in the queen's 
lit^ter, which had been kindly offered to him 
for his journey to Havre de Grace. This 
vehicle was borne by Spanish mules, and he 
was able to travel in it without pain or fa- 
tigue. He slept the first night at St. Germain. 
Some of his friends accompanied him. On the 
journey he passed one night at the chateau of 
the Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld, and an- 



ARRIVES AT PHILADELPHIA. 209 

other in the house of Mr. Holker, at Rouen ; 
and he received civilities and complimentary 
visits from many of the inhabitants at differ- 
ent places. The sixth day after leaving Passy 
he arrived at Havre de Grace. 

From that port he passed over in a packet- 
boat to Southampton. 

Here he was met by Bishop Shipley and his 
family, as we related in chapter eleventh. 
Here also he found his son William, whom 
he had not seen for more than nine years, and 
whose course in regard to politics, meanwhile, 
had occasioned his father much distress. 

Dr. Franklin sailed from Southampton on 
the 2Tth of July, and landed at Pliiladelphia 
on the 14th of September, having suffered less 
inconvenience during the voyage than he 
anticipated. He was greeted by a large con- 
course of his fellow-citizens, at Market-street 
wharf, who followed him with acclamations to 
his own door, while the ringing of bells and 
tiring of cannon testified to the general joy 
that was felt at his safe return. 

As soon as his arrival was known, letters of 
congratulation came from all quarters ; Gen- 
eral Washino;ton beino; amono^ the first to wel- 
come him. The Assembly of Pennsylvania 

18* 



210 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

was then in session, and the day after he 
landed, an address was presented to him by 
that body, in which they congratulate him, 
in the most cordial manner, on his safe return. 
'' We are confident," they observe, " that we 
speak the sentiments of this whole country, 
when we say, that your services, in the public 
councils and negotiations, have not only mer- 
ited the thanks of the present generation, but 
will be recorded in the pages of history to 
your immortal honor ; and it is particularly 
pleasing to us, that while we are sitting as 
members of the Assembly of Pennsylvania, 
we have the happiness of welcoming into the 
State a person who was so greatly instrumental 
in forming its. "free constitution." This was 
followed by a similar address from the Amer- 
ican Philosophical Society, and the Faculty of 
the University of Pennsylvania. To all of 
them he returned brief and appropriate an- 
swers. 

Having reached the advanced age of eighty- 
one, Dr. Franklin might reasonably have sup- 
posed that his public life was at an end ; but 
he had only been at home, a few days, when 
he was elected a member of the Supreme Ex- 
ecutive Council of Pennsylvania, and, when 



IN THE MIDST OF HIS FAMILY. 211 

the Assembly met in October, lie was chosen 
president of the State, an office answering that 
of governor in the other States. He was re- 
elected to the same office for three successive 
3^ears, and so completely did he discharge its 
duties, that he wonld undoubtedly have been 
continued in the same honorable position, had 
not the terms of the existing constitution pre- 
vented. 

He was apparently at ease in his private 
circumstances, and happy in his domestic re- 
lations. He occupied himself for some time 
in finishino^ a house which had been beo:un 
many years before, and in which he fitted up 
a spacious apartment fo/ hi? library. In writ- 
ing to a friend, he said : "I am surrounded by 
my offspring, ?« dutiful and affectionate daugh- 
ter in my house, with six grandchildren, the 
eldest of whom you have geen, who is now at 
college in the next street, finishing the learned 
part of hiii education ; the others promising, 
both for parts and good dispositions. What 
their conduct may be, when they grow up and 
enter the important scenes of life, T shall not 
live to see^ and I cannot foresee. I therefore 
enjoy among them the present hour, and 
leave the future to Providence." 



\ 



212 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

Again, to another correspondent he wrote : 
" I am got into my niche^ after being kept out 
of it twenty-four years by foreign employ- 
ments. It is a very good house, that I built 
so long ago to retire into, without being able 
till now to enjoy it. I am again surrounded 
by my friends, with a fine family of grand- 
children about my knees, and an affectionate, 
good daughter and son-in-law to take care of 
me. And after fifty years' public service, I 
have the pleasure to find the esteem of my 
country with regard to me undiminished." 

Much of his time w^as devoted to the society 
of those around him, and of the numerous 
visitors whom curiosity and respect prompted 
to seek his acquaintance. His attachments to 
the many intimate friends he had left in Eu- 
rope were likewise preserved by a regular 
and affectionate correspondence, in which are 
manifested the same steadiness of feeling and 
enlarged benevolence, the same playfulness 
and charm of style that are conspicuous in the 
compositions of his earlier years. 

Dr. Franklin was elected one of the dele- 
gates from Pennsylvania to the convention for 
forming the Constitution of the United States, 
which met at Philadelphia in May, 1787. 



DAILY PRAYERS. • 213 

The session lasted four months; but he at- 
tended most faithfully to the important busi- 
ness before that body, besides discharging his 
duties as president of the State. One of his 
speeches is worthy of being printed in letters 
of gold. The convention had been in session 
four or five weeks, and very little progress 
had been made in their w^ork, on account of 
differences and disagreements, w^hen Franklin 
rose in his place, and introduced a motion for 
daily prayer. "]^o one," remarks Bishop 
Potter of Pennsylvania, ''will accuse him of 
superstition or of an undue regard for the 
supernatural. All will admit that few men 
ever surpassed him as a shrewd observer of 
life and of human affairs, or as a profound 
inquirer after the causes and principles that 
lie at the bottom of great events."* 

Listen to his language : 

" In the beginning of the contest with Brit- 
ain, when we were sensible of danger, we had 
daily prayers in this room for the divine pro- 
tection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and 
they were graciously answered. 'AH of us 



* Philadelphia Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity, 
p. 143. ^ 



214 • LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

who were engaged in the struggle must have 
observed frequent instances of a superintend- 
ing Providence in our favor. To that kind 
Providence we owe this happy opportunity of 
consulting in peace on the means of establish- 
ing our future national felicity. And have 
we now forgotten that powerful Friend, or do 
we imagine we no longer need His assistance? 
I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer 
I live the more convincing proofs I see of this 
truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. 
And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground 
without His notice, is it probable that an em- 
pire can rise without His aid ? We have been 
assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that, ' ex- 
cept the Lord build the house, they labor in 
vain that build it.' I firmly believe this, and 
I also believe that without His concurring aid 
we shall succeed in this political building no 
better than the builders of Babel ;. we shall be 
divided by our little, partial, local interests ; 
our projects will be confounded, and we our- 
selves shall become a reproach and a by-word 
down to ftiture ages; and, what is worse, man- 
kind may hereafter, from this unfortunate in- 
stance, despair of establishing government by 
human ^isdom, and leave it to chance, war, 



A RISING SUN. 215 

and conquest. I therefore beg leave to move 
that henceforth prayers, imploring the assist- 
ance of Heaven and its blessing on our delib- 
erations, be held in this Assembly every morn- 
ing before we proceed to business, and that 
one or more of the clergy of this city be re- 
quested to officiate in that service." 

At the close of this most important conven- 
tion, as the members on the last day of the 
session were signing the Constitution, Dr. 
Franklin, looking towards the president's 
chair, at the back of which a sun was painted, 
observed to those persons next to him : "I 
have often and often, in the course of the ses- 
sion, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and 
fears as to its issue, looked at that sun be- 
hind the president, without being able to tell 
whether it was^rising or setting. At length I 
have the happiness to know it is a rising and 
not a setting sun."* 

May the God of our fathers grant that no 
angry and portentous clouds may darken our 
political horizon, and that the sun of this re- 
public may never more go down. 

* " The Madison Papers," vol. iii., p. 1624. 



CHAPTER EIGHTEE:N"TH. 

Franklin's -writings easily identified — The germs of ideas now 
triumphant — " Words spoken in season" — Copper coinage — 
A good suggestion — The Franklin copper — The Order of the 
Cincinnati, and its hereditary honors — "Washington quiets a 
storm — Ascending and descending honors — Ribbons and 
medals — The bald eagle which looked like a turkey — A bird 
of courage — The dead fly restored to life — Franklin's wish — 
Wonders he might have seen. 

rpHERE is sucli pith and point in all of Dr. 
X Franklin's writings, that his name need 
hardly be appended to them in order that they 
may be identified. It is fortunate that this ie 
the case, as he took very little pains to secure 
credit to himself in this way. He seems to 
have valued the pen — as he did time, money, 
and experience — for its direct tendency to ex- 
tend knowledge, comfort, and utility. "If 
we glance at the subjects and occasions of his 
tracts, letters, reports, pamphlets, and essays," 
remarks Mr. Tuckerman, " we shall find they 
embrace the whole circle of questions import- 
ant to his country and his age, — morals, the 
economy of life, commerce, finance, history, 
and politics. We find in them the germs of 



217 

ideas now triiimpliant ; of principles, throngh 
his advocacy, in* no small degree, since em- 
bodied in action, and bronglit to grand prac- 
tical results. A parable wins men to tolera- 
tion ; a maxim guides them to frugality ; a 
comprehensive argument initiates the plan of 
that federal union which has proved the key- 
stone of our national prosperity ; the farmer 
or the mariner, consulting ' Poor Richard's 
Almanac' to learn the fluctuation of weather 
or tide, finds, beside these chronicles of Na- 
ture's mysteries, advice which puts him un- 
consciously on the track of provident habits, 
temperance, and contentment; the patriot in 
the field is cheered by the wisdom of the 
judge in council ; the shipwright, the liorti- 
culturist, the printer, the lowly aspirant for 
self-improvement, as well as the statesman 
and the philosopher, find wisdom and encour- 
agement from his ' words spoken in season ;' 
in the prudent household his name is asso- 
ciated with the invaluable heating apparatus 
that saves their fuel and increases the genial 
warmth of the evening fireside ; in the discon- 
solate crisis of war his foreign diplomacy and 
judicious hints warm the heart of valor with 
the prescience of success ; in the land of his 

19 



218 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

country's enemies, his clear statement of griev- 
ances, and his intrepid rcpl'oof of injustice, 
conciliate the nobler spirits there, and vindi- 
cate the leaders at home ; the encroachments 
of savage tribes are checl^^d, the policy of 
colonial rule softened, the comforts of domes- 
tic life enhanced, the resources of the mind 
elicited, and, in a word, the basis of national 
prosperity laid on the eternal foundation of 
popular enlightenment, self-reliance, and fore- 
siglit, by the oracles of the American philoso- 
pher thus casually uttered and incidentally 
proclaimed." 

The matter-of-fact and useful turn of Dr. 
Franklin's mind is shown in a letter addressed 
to Edward Bridgen, with reference to a cop- 
per coinage for the United States : 

Passy, 2d October, 1779. 
Dear Sir : 

I received your favor of the 17th past, 
and the two samples of copper are since come 
to hand. The metal seems to be very good, 
and the price reasonable ; but I have not yet 
received the orders necessary to justify my 
making the purchase proposed. There has 
indeed been an intenliuii to strike copper coin, 



COPPER COINAGE. 219 

that maj not only be useful as small change, 
but serve other purposes. Instead of repeat- 
ing continually ujDon every halfpenny the dull 
story that everybody knows — and v^hat it 
would have been no loss to mankind if no- 
body had ever known — that George the Third 
is king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 
&c., &c., to put on one side some important 
proverb of Solomon, some pious moral, pru- 
dential, or economical precept, the frequent 
inculcation of ^vhich, by seeing it every time 
one receives a piece of money, might make an 
impression upon the mind, especially of young 
persons, and tend to regulate the conduct ; 
such as, on some. The fear of the Lord is the 
heginning of wisdom ; on others, Honesty is 
the hest policy )' on others, lie that hy the 
plough would thrive^ himself iinust either hold 
or drive I on others, Keejj thy shop^ and thy 
shop will keep thee / on others, A penny saved 
is a penny got ; on others, He that huys what 
he has no need of will soon he forced to 
sell his necessaries ; on others, Early to led, 
and early to rise, will make a m.an healthy^ 
wealthy, and wise; and so on, to a great 
variety. 

The other side it was proposed to fill with 



220 LIFE OF FEANKLm. 

good designs, drawn and engraved by the best 
artists in France, of all the different species of 
barbarity with wdiich the English have car- 
ried on the war in America, expressing every 
abominable circumstance of their cruelty and 
inhumanity that figures can express, to make 
an impression on the minds of posterity as 
strong and durable as that on the copper. 
This resolution has been a long time forborne ; 
but the late burning of defenceless towns in 
Connecticut, on the flimsy pretence that the 
people fired from behind their houses, when it 
is known to have been premeditated and or- 
dered from England, give the finishing provo- 
cation, and may occasion a vast demand for 
your metal. I thank you for your kind wishes 
respecting my health. I return them most 
cordially fourfold into your own bosom. 

Adieu. B. Franklin. 

A coin was issued from the United States 
mint in 1787, called the " Fugio, or Franklin 
copper," because of the pithy advice in the 
legend, " Mind your business," which sounds 
like the philosoj^her, and which tradition has 
generally ascribed to him. We give a draw- 
ing of this copper here. 



ORDER OF THE CINCINNATI. 



221 




Dr. Franklin's republican simplicity was 
manifested in his opposition to the Order of the 
Cincinnati, established by the officers of the 
Revolutionary army, in 1783, to perpetuate 
their friendship, and to raise a fund for reliev- 
ing the widows and orphans of those who had 
fallen durin^c the war. The honors of the 
society were designed to be hereditary in the 
eldest male line of the original members, and 
it was to this feature 'of its constitution that 
most objection was made. By the advice of 
Gen. Washington, the first president of the 
order, the hereditary principle was abandoned, 
and th'us a menacing storm was silenced.^ 

Before giving Franklin's Avitty and sarcastic 
communication on the subject, it should be 
mentioned that the badge of the society is a 



* Soino inlcresting details in regard to tlie Order of the Cin- 
cinnati, are contained in Kapp's '• Life of Baron Steuben," p. 
55S, etc. 

19* 



222 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

bald eagle, suspended by a blue ribbon edged 
witli white, emblematic of the union of France 
and America. 

In a letter from France, to his daughter, 
Mrs. Bache, written in 1784:, Franklin thus 
speaks of the Order of the Cincinnati : 

" My opinion of the institution cannot be of 
much importance ; I only wonder that, wdien 
the united wisdom of our nation, had, in the 
articles of confederation, manifested their dis- 
like of establishing ranks of nobility, by au- 
thority either of Congress, or of any particu- 
lar State, a number of private persons should 
think proper to distinguish themselves and 
their posterity, from their fellow-citizens, and 
form an order of hereditary knights^ in direct 
opposition to the solenmly declared sense of 
their country ! I iniagine it must be likewise 
contrary to the good sense of most of those 
drawn into it by the persuasion of its project- 
ors, wdio have been too much struck with the 
ribbons and crosses they have seen hanging to 
the button-holes of foreign officers. And I 
suppose those who disapprove of it have not 
hitherto given it much opposition, from a 
principle somewhat like that of your good 
mother, relating to punctilious persons, who 



HONOR AMONG THE CHINESE. 223 

are always exacting little observances of re- 
spect; that, if jpeojple can he pleased with 
small matters^ it is a pity that they should not 
have thim. In this view, perhaps, I should not 
myself, if my advice had been asked, have 
objected to their wearing their ribbon and 
badge themselves according to their fancy, 
though I certainly should to the" entailing it as 
an honor on their posterity. For honor, wor- 
thily obtained (as that, for example, of our 
officers), is in its nature a personal thing, and 
incommunicable to any but those who had 
some share in obtaining it. Thus, among the 
Chinese, the most ancient, and from long ex- 
perience the wisest of nations, honor does not 
descend^ but ascends. If a man from his learn- 
ing, his wisdom, or his valor, is promoted by 
the emperor to the rank of mandarin, his 
parents are immediately entitled to all the 
ceremonies of respect from the people, that 
are established as due to the mandarin him- 
self; on the supposition that it must have 
been owing to the educa^tion, instruction, and 
good example afforded him by his parents, 
that he was rendered capable' of sowing the 
public. 

"The ascending honor is therefore useful to 



224 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

the State, as it encoin-ages parents to give their 
children a good and virtuous education. But 
tlie descending hono7\ to a posterity who could 
have no share in obtaining it, is not only 
groundless and absurd, but often hurtful to 
that posterity, since it is apt to make them 
proud, disdaining to be employed in useful arts, 
and thence falling into poverty, and all the 
meannesses, servility, and wretchedness attend- 
ing it ; which is the present case of much of 
what is called the noblesse in Europe. Or if, to 
keep np the dignity of the family, estates were 
entailed entire on the eldest male heir, another 
pest to industry and improvement of the coun- 
try is introduced, wdiich will be followed by 
all the odious mixture of pride and beggary 
and idleness, that have half depopulated and 
decultivated Spain ; occasioning continual ex- 
tinction of families by the discourao-ements of 
marriage, and neglect in the improvement of 
estates. I wish, therefore, that the Cincinnati, 
if they must go on with their project, would 
direct the badges of their order to be worn by 
their fathers and mothers, instead of handing 
them do^tn to their children. It would be a 
good precedent, and might have good effects. 
It would also be a kind of obedience to the 



THE BALD EAGLE. 225 

fourth commandment, in wliicli God enjoins 
us to honor our father and mother, but has no- 
where directed us to honor our children. And 
certainly no mode of honoring those immediate 
authors of our being can be more effectual, 
than that of doing praiseworthy actions, which 
reflect honor on those who gave us our educa- 
tion ; or more becoming, than that of manifest- 
ing, by some public expression or token, that 
it is to their instruction and example we 

ascribe the merit of those actions 

The gentleman who made the voyage to 
France to' provide the ribbons and medals, 
has executed his commission. To me they 
seem tolerably done ; but all such things are 
criticised. Some find fault with the Latin, as 
wjinting classical elegance and correctness ; 
and, since our nine universities were not able 
to furnish better Latin, it was a pity, they say, 
that the mottoes had not been in English. Oth- 
ers object to the title, as not properly assuma- 
ble by any but General Washington, and a few 
others, who served without pay. Others ob- 
ject to the hold eagle^ as looking too much like 
2^dindon or turkey. For my own part, I wish 
the bald eagle had not been chosen as the rep- 
resentative of our country; he is a bird of bad 



226 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

moral character; lie does not get his living 
honestly ; you may have seen him perched on 
some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for 
himself, he watches the labor of the fishing- 
hawk, and when that diligent bird has at 
length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his 
nest for the support of his mate and young 
ones, the bald eagle pursues him, and takes it 
from him. With all this injustice he is never 
in good case ; but, like thosQ, among men who 
live by sharping and robbing, he is generally 
poor, and often very lousy. Besides, ho is a 
rank coward ; the little Mnghird^ not bigger 
than a sparrow, attacks him boldly, and drives 
him out of the district. He is, therefore, by 
no means, a j)roper emblem for the brave and 
honest Cincinnati of America, who have driven 
all the Ytnghirds from our country ; though 
exactly fit for that order of knights, which the 
French call, chevaliers cPindustrie. I am, on 
this account, not displeased that the figure is 
not knowm as a bald eagle, but looks more 
likQ a turkey. For in truth, the turkey is in 
comparison a much more respectable bird, and 
withal, a true original native of America. 
Eagles have been found in all countries, but 
the turkey was peculiar to ours. He is, be- 



PKOGKESS OF SCIENCK. 227 

sides (thongli a little vain and silly, it is true, 
but not the worst emblem for that), a bird of 
courage, and would not hesitate to attack a 
grenadier of the British guards, who should 
presume to invade his farmyard with a red 
coat on." 

It happened once at a dinner-party, at 
which Franklin was present, that upon the 
opening of a bottle of wine which had long 
been sealed up, a dead fly was poured out. 
The host laid it in the sunshine, where it soon 
became dry and warm, and, after a while, 
revived so much as to be able to move its 
w4ngs. The doctor observed on seeing it, 
that he should be glad to awake after sleeping 
in his grave for a hundred years or more, that 
he might witness the progress which science 
had made since his departure from the earth. 
And what wonders he would behold, could his 
desire have been granted. "Had he lived a 
little more than another fifty years, he would 
have seen the mode of popular education ini- 
tiated by the Spectator, expanded into the 
elaborate Review, the brilliant Magazine, the 
Household Words, and Scientific Journals of 
the present day ; the rude hand-press, upon 
which he arranged the miniature 'copy' of 



228 LIFE OF FKAiNKLIN. 

the New England Couvant^ transformed into 
electrotjped cylinders worked by steam, and 
throwing off thirty thousand printed sheets an 
hour ; the thin ahnanac, with its proverbs and 
calendar grown to a plethoric volume, rich in 
astronomical lore and the statistics of a conti- 
nent ; the vessel dependent on the caprice of 
the winds and an imperfect science qf naviga- 
tion, self-impelled with a pre-calculated rate 
of speed, and by the most authentic charts ; 
and the subtle fluid, that his prescience caught 
up and directed safely by a metal rod, sent 
along leagues of wire, the silent and instant 
messenger of the world ! With what keen 
interest would he have followed Davy with 
his safety-lamp, into the treacherous mine ; 
accompanied Fulton in his first steam-voyage 
up the Hudson ; watched Daguerre as he made 
his sun-pictures ; seen the vineyards along the 
Ohio attest his prophetic advocacy of the 
Rhenish grape-<^ulture ; heard Miller discourse 
of the ' Old Red Sandstone ;' Morse explain 
the telegraph, or Maury the tidal laws ! Chem- 
istry, almost born since his day, would open a 
ncAV and wonderful realm to his consciousness; 
the ' Cosmos' of Humboldt would draw his en- 
tranced gaze down every vista of natural 



INTRODUCES BHOOM-CORN. 229 

science, as if to reveal at a glance a programme 
of all the great and beautiful secrets of the 
universe; and the reckless enterprise and mad 
extravagance of his prosperous country, would 
elicit more emphatic warnings than Poor 
Richard breathed of old." * 



* Tuckerman's "Biographical Essays," p. 473. "It is said 
that Dr. Franklin first introduced broom-corn into our country ; 
he chanced to see a corn whisk in the possession of a lady, and 
while examining it as a novelty, he spied a grain of it still at- 
tached to the stalk. This he took and planted." — Dr. Wm. 
Darlington, the eminent botanist of Westchester, Pa., in his 
" Agricultural Botany." 

20 



CHAPTER NINETEENTH. 

Protest against duelling^— Franklin's services for his country 
and mankind — Plis respect for true religion — False charges 
refuted— Letter to Dr. Johnson — Recognition of God's provi- 
dence — Consolations in affliction — "These are Thy doings, 
Lord !" — The swarm of bees — A test subscription — Not blink- 
ing a troublesome question — Dr. Priestley's influence discov- 
ered — President Stiles' catechism — Doubts on a most impor- 
tant point — More light promised. 

IN the " Life of General Washington," in this 
series, his opinion in regard to duelling is 
given, as a protest against those who now 
countenance this bloodthirsty and barbarous 
practice. Dr. Franklin's language is scarcely 
less strong and decided. 

" It is astonishing," he says, " that the mur- 
derous practice of duelling should continue so 
long in vogue. Formerly, when duels were 
used to determine lawsuits, from an opinion 
that Providence would in every instance favor 
truth and right with victory, they were excu- 
sable. At present, they decide nothing. How 
can such miserable sinners as we are entertain 
so much pride, as to conceit that every offence 




CHRIST CllUIiCII, PHILADELPHIA. 

Front Chap. 19. 



FRANKLIN AND WASHINGTON. 231. 

• 

against our imagined honor, merits death! 
These petty princes, •in their own. opinion, 
w^oold call that sovereign a tyrant, who should 
put one of them to death for a little uncivil 
language, though pointed at his sacred person ; 
yet every one of them makes himself judge in 
ttis own cause, condemns the offender witliout 
a jury, and undertakes himself to be the 
executioner."* 

Franklin was not only the great moralist of 
^nte-revolutionary society, but he w^as the re- 
claimer ofthat society to the spirit of religious 
forbearance which might have been expected 
to grow out of the circumstances of its plant- 
ing here, but which, rather, was smothered in 
the birth. He was the projector of the union 
of these States. He and Washington worked 
out the problem of independence and confed- 
eration. Without morals, religion, Christiani- 
ty, — the grand climax of the social bond, — 
this Republic could not have risen. Notwith- 
standing the many evidences which Dr. Frank- 
lin gave through life of his respect for true 
religion, efforts have often been made to drag 
him down into the mire of infidelity, and to 



* Dr. Franklin's writings, vol. x., p. 107. 



232 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

throw his influence on the side of evil. In 
Parton>"Life of Aarf>n Burr," for example, 
he alludes euphemistically to the latter, " com- 
ing in contact with the skepticism that was 
then the rage in Europe, and which had cap- 
tivated the Jeffersons an^ Franklins of Amer- 
ica" [p. 64]. Now, this charge, so far as 
Franklin is concerned, is simply false. Of all 
the leaders among men, no two can be found, 
out of the ranks of the clergy, whose lives and 
writings show such constant dependence oji 
Divine Providence, such warmth of gratitude 
for God's mercies and blessings, and such un- 
affected inculcation of religious principle as 
the basis of society, as the lives and writings 
of Franklin and Washington. These men 
were " giants," and they did not fall into the 
skepticism of their times, and this is significant 
both of the greatness of their characters, and 
of the depth of their religious principles. 

The writer had marked many passages in 
Franklin's works, which prove the truth of 
this position, but he is sorry to be obliged to 
omit the larger portion of them for want of 
space. In writing to Dr. Johnson, the first 
president of Columbia College, in 1750, he 
remarks : " I think that talents for the educa- 



LETTER TO HTS SISTER. 233 

tion of yoiitli are the gift of God ; and that he 
on whom they are bestowed, whenever a way 
is opened for the nse of them, is as strongly 
called as if he heard a voice from Heaven ; 
nothing more siirely pointing ont duty in pub- 
lic service, than ability and opportunity of 
performing it." • 

Two years later, he thus writes to his sister, 
Mrs. Jane Mecom, who was mourning over 
the loss of a child : "I am pleased to "find 
that, in your troubles, you do not overlook the 
mercies of God, and that you consider as such 
the children that are still spared to you. This 
is a right temper of mind, and must be ac- 
ceptable to tftat beneficent Being, who is in 
various ways continually 'showering down His 
blessings upon many that receiv^e them as 
things of course, and feel no grateful senti- 
ments arising in their hearts on the enjoyment 
of them." 

In 1755, he remarks in another letter: 
"Thanks to God, I never was in better health. 
I still relish all the pleasures of life that a 
temperate man can in reason desire, and 
through favor I have them all in niy j)ower. 
This happy condition shall continue as long as 
God pleases, who know^s what is best for His 

20* 



234 LITE OF FRANKLIN. 

creatures, and I hope will enable me to bear 
with patience and dutiful submission any 
change He may think fit to make, that is less 
agreeable." 

The next year, on the death of his brother 
John, he thus condoles with a member of the 
afflicted family. " We hsrv^e lost a most dear 
and valuable relation. But it is the will of 
God and nature, that those mortal bodies be 
laid aside, when the soul is to enter into real 
life. This is rather an embryo state, a prepa- 
ration for living. A man is not completely 
born until he is dead. Why, then, should we 
grieve that a new child is born among the 
immortals, a new member added to their hap- 
py society." 

The influences of the fashionable skepticism, 
which would have proved so dangerous to a 
person of weaker judgment, made no change 
in Dr. Franklin's religious opinions, and he 
was ready to ascribe the glory to God for the 
happy settlement of the affairs of his beloved 
country. 

In a letter to Josiah Quincy, dated Passy, 
Sept. 11th, 1783, he observes : " Considerikg 
all our mistakes and mismanagements, it is 
wonderful we have finished our affairs so well, 



ANECDOTE OF THE BEES. 235 

and so soon. Indeed, I am wrong in using 
that expression, ' we have finished our affairs 
so well.' Our blunders have been many, and 
they serve to manifest the hand of Providence 
more clearly in our favor; so that we nfay 
muc^ more properly say, * These are Thy do- 
ings, O Lord, and they are marvellous in our 
eyes.' " 

In early life, Franklin had composed a little 
book of prayers, which he was in the habit of 
using in his devotions, and we mentioned in a 
former chapter, the good example he set in 
still attending public worship, at a very ad- 
vanced age. He was, for a while, one of the 
vestry of Christ Church, Philadelphia,* and 
at all times ready to contribute his full share 
towards the erection of churches, and for other 



* An anecdote is related, which is in perfect keeping with 
Dr. Franklin's character for sagacity. The project of the erec- 
tion of another church edifice in the city of Philadelphia, was- 
under discussion, and there were some members of the vestry 
who conscientiously opposed it, in the fear that the division of 
the congregation would too much weaken the old church. But 
Franklin defended the new enterprise, and to show that no per- 
manent diminution, but rather a solid increase was to be ex- 
pected from'the measure, quoted the habit of the bees, of 
swarming, " by which," he said, " the comfort and prosperity of 
the old hive was increased, and a new and flourishing colony 
established, to keep the parent stock in countenance." 



236 LIFE OF FRANKLTK. 

religious objects. Among his dearest friends 
lie numbered Whitefield and Bishop Shipley. 
Strange society, indeed, for an irreligious man, 
atS some would persuade us that he was. 

t)n the 21st of June, 1776, a test subscrip- 
tion was prepared, to be signed by members 
of the Pennsylvania Convention who had as- 
sembled to frame a constitution, and which 
read as follows : 

"I, , do profess faith in God the Fa- 
ther, and in Jesus Christ His Eternal Son, the 
true God, and in the Holy Spirit, one God, 
blessed for evermore ; aid do acknowledge 
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and J^ew 
Testament to be given by Divine Inspira- 
tion." 

This was not only signed by Franklin, but 
drawn up for the signature of members at a 
preliminary conference, of which he was one, 
and, indeed, the first on the list. It encoun- 
tered much opposition, outside, and some ob- 
loquy: yet it does not appear that he or 
others faltered, but rather the contrary. 

As it is by no means our object to make out 
a case, but to record nothing but 'the truth, 
we must say in all frankness, that it is much 
to be regretted that the great philosopher did 



franklin's religious opinions. 237 

not bestow more attention on the evidences of 
Cliristiaiiity, as he would thns have been 
saved from some perplexities and doubts. 
We are not disposed to blink the question at 
all, that such perplexities and doubts did 
sometimes disturb his mind. His intimacy 
with Dr. Priestley,^ the eminent champion of 
Unitarianism, will account for this, in no small 
degree. 

In 1790, when Dr. Franklin was eighty-four 
years of age, President Stiles,f of Yale Col- 



* Joseph Priestley was born near Leeds, in England, in 1733, 
his parents being rigid Calvinists. lie was a young man of 
promise, whose judgment revolted at the system of religion 
which had been taught him, and he adopted Unitarian views, 
soon afterwards coming out as a preacher. He became ac- 
quainted with Franklin, in London, about 1766, and their sym- 
pathy in scientific studies made them warm friends. It will be 
needless to give Dr. Priestley's history in detail. Of his abili- 
ties there can be no question. Franklin would, however, have 
been saved from some perplexing doubts, had he heard less of 
the unsound doctrine of the Unitarian divine. 

+ Soon after Franklin had made his first experiments in elec- 
tricity, he sent an electrical apparatus to Yale College, where 
Mr. Stiles was then a tutor. The young man entered at once 
with great zeal npon the new field of philosophical investiga- 
tion, and performed the earliest electrical experiments ever 
made in N ew England. In 1778, Dr. Stiles was chosen pres- 
ident of the college. Many years before this (1755), he had 
pronounced a Latin oration in honor of Dr. Franklin, on oc- 
casion of his visiting New Haven, and tlieir friendship was 



238 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

lege, wrote to him, making particular inquiries 
about his religious opinions. It is true, they 
had long been acquainted with each other, 
but there never could have been much con- 
geniality between the good-humored philoso- 
pher and the stern, unbending Puritan. 

Dr. Franklin returned a polite answer to the 
president's catechism, but there appears to be 
a little dry sarcasm under the garb of very 
simple language when he remarks, that it was 
the first time in his life that he had ever been 
questioned about his religious opinions before. 
He then goes on to declare his belief in the 
unity and moral government of God, and the 
paramount " system of morals and religion" of 
" Jesus of Nazareth," as the " best the world 
ever saw, or is likely to see," and concludes 
by saying that he had entertained some doubts 
of the Saviour's Divinity. "This is a ques- 
tion," remarks the doctor, " I do not dogmatize 
upon, having never studied it, and think it 
needless to busy myself with it now, when I 
expect soon an oppoi'tunity of knowing the 
truth with less trouble." 

This was only five weeks before the sum- 
uninterrupted only by death. (See " Sprague's Annals," vol. i., 
p. 471.) 



franklin's religious opinions. 239 

mons came, for which lie had so long and so 
anxiously waited. In the account which will 
in due time be given of his last hours, we 
think it will be seen that Dr. Franklin looked 
to the Saviour of sinners for help, and to Him 
only. 



CHAPTEE TWENTIETH. 

No offices of profit — Dr. Franklin carries out his principles — 
Eetirement from public life — A scene in the domestic circle 
— Painful sickness — Farewell letter to President Washington 
— Patience in suffering— Eepeats Dr. Watts' hymns— Prepar- 
ing to depart — Picture of the crucifixion — Looking unto Jesus 
— Falls asleep— Account of the funeral — Plain tombstone — 
Act of kindness for poor mechanics — Honors paid to Frank- 
lin after death— Items from the parish register of Christ 
Church, Philadelphia — Conclusion. 

DR. FUAKELIN had long entertained the 
opinion that in a democratic form of gov- 
ernment there ought to be no offices of profit. 
It gave him such pleasure to serve his coun- 
try, that he could hardly imagine a true-born 
son of the republic less unselfish than himself. 
As a proof of his zeal in the cause of indepen- 
dence, it should be mentioned that before leav- 
ing home in 1776, on his uncertain embassy to 
France, such confidence did he feel as to the 
result of the contest with England, that he 
placed almost four thousand pounds, which 
was all the money he could command, as a 
loan at the disposal of Congress. The salary 
which he received as president of Pennsyl- 



241 

vania, he appropriated to some object of gen- 
eral utility ; and, taking the fifty years of his 
public life together, the amount of compensa- 
tion was not enough to cover his actual ex- 
penses. 

His third and last year's service as presi- 
dent of Pennsylvania expired in October, 
1788, after which he held no ofiice, although 
he* was often consulted about public measures. 

We have a pleasant picture of him as he 
appeared in domestic life, by a distinguished 
scholar, who spent an evening at his house in 
1787: 

" Dr. Franklin lives in Market-street. His 
house stands up a court, at some distance from 
the street. We found him in his garden, sit- 
ting upon a grass-plot, under a very large 
mulberry- tree, with several other gentlemen, 
and two or three ladies. When Mr. Gerry in- 
troduced me, he rose from his chair, took me 
by the hand, expressed his joy at seeing me, 
welcomed me to the city, and begged me to 
seat myself close to him. His voice was low, 
but his countenance open, frank, and pleasing. 
I delivered to him my letters. After he had 
read them, he took me again by the hand, and, 
with the usual compliments, introduced me to 

21 



242 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

the other gentlemen, who are most of them 
members of the convention. 

'' Here we entered tnto a free conversation, 
and spent our time most agreeably, nntil it 
was quite dark. The tea-table was spread 
under the tree, and Mrs. Bache, who is the 
only daughter of the doctor, and lives with 
him, served it out to the company. She had 
three of her children about her. They seemed 
to be excessively fond of their grandpapa. 
The doctor showed me a curiosity he had just 
received, and with which he was much pleased. 
It was a snake with two heads, preserved in a 
large vial. It was taken near the confluence 
of the Schuylkill with the Delaware, about 
four miles from this city. It was about ten 
inches long, well proportioned, the heads per- 
fect, and united to the body about one-fourth 
of an inch below the extremities of the jaws. 
The snake was of a dark brown, approaching 
to black, and the back beautifully speckled 
with white. The belly was rather checkered 
with a reddish color and white. The doctor 
supposed it to be full grown, which I think 
is probable; and he thinks it must be a sui 
generis of that class of animals. He grounds 
his opinion of its not being an extraordinary 



SECEECT IN THE CONVENTION. 243 

production, but a distinct genus, on the per- 
fect form of the snake, tlie probability of its 
being of some age, and there having been 
found a snake entirely similar — of which the 
doctor has a drawing, which he showed us — 
near Lake Champlain, in the time of the late 
war. He mentioned the situation of this 
snake, if it was travelling among bushes, and 
one head should choose to go on one side of 
the stem of a bush, and the other head should 
prefer the other side, and neither of the heads 
would consent to come back, or give way to 
the other. He was then going to mention a 
humorous matter that had that day occurred 
in the convention, in consequence of his com- 
paring the snake to America ; for he seemed 
to forget that every thing in the convention 
was to be kept a profound secret. But the 
secrecy of convention matters w^as suggested 
to him, which stopped him, and .deprived me 
of the story he was going to tell. After it 
was dark, we went into the house, and he in- 
vited me into his library, which is likewise his 
study. It is a very large chamber, and high 
studded. The walls are covered with book- 
shelves, filled with books ; besides, there are 
four large alcoves, extending two-thirds the 



244 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

length of the chamber, filled in the same man- 
ner. I presunTe this is the largest and by 
far the best private library in America. He 
showed us a glass machine for exhibiting the 
circulation of the blood in the arteries and 
veins of the human body. The circulation is 
exhibited by the passing of a red fluid from a 
reservoir into numerous capillary tubes of 
glass, ramified in every direction, and then 
returning in similar tubes to the reservoir, 
which was done with great velocity, without 
any power to act visibly upon the fluid, and 
had the appearance of perpetual motion. 

"Another great curiosit}^ was a rolling-press 
for taking the copies of letters or any other 
writing. A sheet of paper is completely 
copied in less than two minutes — the copy as 
fair as the original, and without defacing it in 
the smallest degree. It is an invention of his 
own, extremely useful in many situations of 
life. He also showed us his long, artificial 
arm and hand for taking down and putting 
up books on high shelves which are out of 
reach ; and his great arm-chair, with rockers, 
and a large fan placed over it, with which he 
fans himself, keeps off the flies, &c., while he 
sits reading, with only a small motion of the 



245 

foot; and many other curiosities and inven- 
tions, all his own, but of less note. Over his 
mantel he has a prodigious number of medals, 
busts, and casts in wax or plaster of Paris, 
which are the effigies of the most noted char- 
acters in Europe. 

" But what the doctor wished principally to 
show me was a huge volume on botany, which 
indeed afforded me the greatest pleasure of 
any thing in his library. It was a single 
volume, but. so iarge that it was with great 
difficulty that he was able to raise it from a 
low shelf and lift it on the table. But" w^th 
that senile ambition which is common to old 
people, he insisted on doing it himself, and 
would permit no person to assist him, merely 
to sliow us how much strength he had remain-, 
ing. It contained the whole of Linnseus's* 
" Systema* Yegetabilium," wdth large cuts of 
every plant, colored from nature. It was a 
feast to me, and the doctor seemed to enjoy 
it as well as myself. We spent a couple of 
hours in examining this volume, while the 
other gentlemen amused themselves with other 
matters. The doctor is not a botanist, but 
lamented he did not in early life attend to this 
science. He delights in Natural History, and 

21* 



246 LIFE OF FRANK r.IN. 

expressed an earnest wisli tliat I sliould pnrsne 
the plan that I had begun, and hoped this sci- 
ence, so much neglected in America, would be 
pursued with as much ardor here as it is now 
in every part of Europe. I wanted for three 
months at least to have devoted myself en- 
tirely to this one volume ; but fearing lest I 
should be tedious to him, I shut up the vol- 
ume, though he urged me to examine it longer. 
He seemed extremely fond, through the course 
of the visit, of dwelling on philosophical sub- 
jects, and particularly that of Natural History, 
while the other gentlemen were swallowed up 
with politics. This was a 'favorable circum- 
stance for me ; for almost the whole of his con- 
versation w^as addressed to me, and I was 
highly delighted with the extensive knowl- 
' edge he appeared to have of every subject, 
the brightness of his memory,' and clearness 
and vivacity of all his mental faculties, not- 
withstanding his age. His manners are per- 
fectly easy, and every thing about him seems 
to diffuse an unrestrained freedom and happi- 
ness. He has an incessant vein of humor, ac- 
companied with an uncommon vivacity, which 
seems as natural and involuntary as his breath- 
ing. He urged me to call on him again, but 



LETTER TO PRESIDEJJX WASHINGTON. 247 

my short stay would not admit. We took our 
leave at ten, and I retired to my lodgings." 

Dr. Franklin had now been an invalid for 
several years, and often suffered acute bodily 
pain. He refers to his health in a letter to 
President Washington,* written on the 16th 
of September, 1789 : 

" My malady renders my sitting up to write 
rather painful to me; but I cannot let my 
son-in-law, Mr. Bache, depart for 'New York 
without congraAlating you by him on the 
recovery of your health, so precious to us all, 
and on the growing strength of our new gov- 
ernment under your administration. 

" For my own personal ease, I should have 
died two years ago ; but, though those years 
have been spent in excruciating pain, I am 
pleased that I have lived them, since they 
have brought me to see our present situation. 
I am now finishing my eighty-fourth year, 
and probably with it my career in this life; 
but, in whatever state of existence I am placed 



* "My fine crab-tree walking-stick, with a gold head curi- 
ously wrought in the form of the cap of liberty, I give to my 
friend, and the friend of mankind, General Washington. If 
it were a sceptre, he has merited it, and would become it." — 
D?'. Franklin's Will, 



24S LTFK OF FKANKLTN. 

hereafter, if I retain^ any memory of what 
has passed here, I shall with 'it retain the 
esteem, respect, and affection, with which I 
have long been, my dear friend, yonrs most 
sincerely." 

Although Dr. Franklin continued to suffer 
extremely from disease, there was no decided 
change in his condition until early in April, 
1790, when he was attacked with a fever, and 
a pain in the breast. Sick and feeble as he 
was, the intervals of quiet T)etween the vio- 
lent paroxysms of pain were spent in read- 
ing, and in cheerful conversation with his 
friends. , 

Occasionally, when a groan escaped him, he 
would meekly observe that he w^as afraid he 
did not bear his sufferings as he ought, fre- 
quently expressing his grateful sense of obliga- 
tion to God for His unnumbered mercies. 

A friend came in one day, and found him in 
great agony ; when this had abated somewhat, 
he desired her to read to him. The first book 
she saw was Johnson's " Lives of the Poets," 
and turning to the sketch of Dr. Watts, who 
was a favorite witli the sick man, she read it 
aloud, supposing that it would lull him to 
sleep. Instead of this, it roused him to a dis- 



ANECDOTE OF FRANKLIN. 249 

play of the powers of memory and reason, and 
lie repeated several of Watts' hymns with 
great feeling.* 

Dr. Franklin continued to speak of his ap- 
proaching departure, not only with composure, 
but with cheerfulness, and when his daughter 
expressed the wish that he might yet recover, 
and live many^ years longer, he calmly replied, 
" I hope not." 

The following interesting particulars were 
obtained from Dr. Helmuth of the German 
Church, Pliiladelphia. Hearing that this 
learned and pious divine possessed a valuable 
•anecdote of Dr. Franklin, I immediately wait- 
ed on him. ''Yes, sir," said he, " I have indeed 
a valuable anecdote of Dr. Franklin, which I 
would tell you with great pleasure ; but as I 
do not speak English very well, I wish you 
would call on David Ritter, at the sign of the 



* It is worth recording here, that in 1782, a friend sent Dr. 
Franklin a copy of Cowper's Poems, a book, in some respects, 
quite in harmony with the "Lyric Poems" of Watts. The 
present was highly appreciated, and he replied, " The relish for 
reading poetry had long since left me ; but there is something 
so new in the manner, so easy, and yet so correct in the lan- 
guage, so clear in the expression, yet concise, and so just in the 
sentiments, that I have read the whole with great pleasure, and 
some of the pieces more than once." — Sparks, vol, ix., p. 221. 



250 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

' Golden Lamb,' in Front-street, lie will tell it 
to yon better." I hastened to Mr. Hitter, and 
told him my errand. He seemed mightily 
pleased at it, and said, " Yes, I will tell you all 
I know of it. You must understand then, sir, 
first of all, that I always had a prodigious 
opinion of Dr. Franklin, as the usefulest man 
we ever had among ns, by a long way ; and 
so, hearing that he was sick, I thought I would 
go and see him. As I rapped at the door, who 
should come and open it but old Sarah Hum- 
phries. I was right glad to see her, for I had 
known her for a long time. She was of the 
people called Friends ; and a good sort of a 
body she w^as too. The great people set a 
heap of store by her, for she was famous 
throughout the town for nursing and tending 
on the sick. Indeed, many of them, I believe, 
thought they could not sicken and die right, if 
they had not old Sarah Humphries with them. 
Soon as she saw me, she said, ' Well, David, 
how dost V 

" ' Oh, much after the old sort, Sarah,' said 
I; 'but that's neither here nor there; I am 
come to see Dr. Franklin.' 

" ' Well, then,' said she, ' thou art too late, 
for he \sjust dead P 



DEATH OF FKANKLIN. 251 

" ^ A-lack-a-day,' said I, ' then a great man 
is gone.' 

" 'Yes, indeed,' said she, 'and a good one 
too ; for it seemed as though he never thought 
the day went away if he had not done some- 
body a service. However, David,' said she, 
' he is ngt the worse off for all that now, where 
he has gone to ; but come, as thee came to see 
Benjamin Franklin, thee shall see him yet.' 
And so she took me into his room. As we 
entered she pointed to him, where he lay on 
his bed, and said, '-There^ did thee ever see 
any thing look so natural ?' 

"And he did look natural, indeed. His 
eyes were closed. But that you saw he did 
not breathe, you would have thought he was 
in a sweet sleep, he looked so calm and happy. 
Observing that his face was fixed right towards 
the chimney, I cast my eyes that way, and be- 
hold ! just above the mantel -piece was a noble 
picture. Oh, it was a nolle jpicture^ sure 
enough ! it was the picture of our Saviour on 
the cross. 

" I could not help calling out, ' Bless us all, 
Sarah !' said I ; ' what's all this V 

i ' What dost mean, David ?' said she, quite 
crusty. 



252 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

" 'Why, how came this picture hero, Sarah?' 
said I ; ' you know that many people think he 
was not after this sort.' 

" 'Yes,' said she, 'I know that too. But 
thee knows that many who make a great fuss 
about religion have very little, while some 
who say but little about it have a good deal.' 

" ' That's sometimes the case, I fear, Sarah,' 
said I. 

" ' Well, and that was the case,' said she, 
'with Benjamin Franklin. But, be that as it 
may, David, since thee asks me about this 
great picture', I'll tell thee how it came here. 
Many weekg ago, as he lay, he beckoned me 
to him, and told me of this picture up-stairs, 
and besrsred I would brino^ it to him. I brous^ht 
it to him. His face brightened up as he look- 
ed at it, and he said, " Ay, Sarah, there's a 
picture worth looking at ! that's the picture of 
Plim w^ho came into the w^orld to teach men to 
love one another !" Then after looking at it 
wistfully for some time, he said, " Sarah, set 
this picture up over the mantel-piece, right 
before me as I lie, for I like to look at it ;" and 
when I fixed it up, he looked at it, and looked 
at it very much ; and indeed, as thou seest, he 
died with his eyes fixed on it !' " 



253 

On Saturdq^, the 17th of xipril, 1790, about 
eleven o'clock at night, Dr. Franklin quietly 
breathed his last, closing a long and useful life 
of eiglity-four years and three months. The 
funeral took place on the afternoon of the fol- 
lowing Wednesday ; an account of which we 
copy from the Federal Gazette^ published the 
next day : 

" The following was the order of procession, 
yesterday, at the funeral of our late learned 
and illustrious citizen. Dr. Franklin. 

"All the clergy of the city, including the 
ministers of the Hebrew congregations, before 
the corpse. 

" The corpse, carried by citizens ; the pall 
supported by the president of ,the State, the 
chief-justice, president of the bank, Samuel 
Powell, William Bingham, and David Ritten- 
house, Esqrs. 

"Mourners, consisting of the family of the 
deceased, with a number of particular friends. 

" The secretary and members of the Supreme 
Executive Councils* 

"The speaker and members of the General 
Assembly. 

" Judges of the Supreme Court and other 
officers of government. 

22 



254: LIFI-: OF FllASllL]^. 

"The gentlemen of the bar. 

"■ The mayor and corporation of the city of 
Philadelphia. 

"The printers of the city, with their jour- 
neymen and apprentices. 

"The Philosophical Society. 

" The College of Physicians. 

" The Cincinnati. 

" The College of Philadelphia. 

" And sundry other societies, together with 
a numerous and respectable body of citizens. 

"The concourse of spectators was greater 
than ever was known on a like occasion. It 
is computed that not less than 20,000 persons 
attended and witnessed the funeral. The 
order and silence which prevailed, during the 
procession, deeply evinced the'*heartfelt sense 
entertained by all classes of citizens, of the un- 
paralleled virtues, talents, and services of the 
deceased." 

On the day of the funeral the flags of the 
shipping in port were at half-mast, and the 
public demonstrations of respect for the mem- 
ory of the deceased were general. A long 
panegyric on the virtues of Franklin was pub- 
lished in the Federal Gazette on the day of the 
fiinerab The conclusion of it was as follows ; 



BENEVOLENCE OF FRANKLIN. 255 

" Then Pennsylvania ! every tribute^pay ; 

Erect the sculptured marble o'er his clay : 
Thus youth at equal praise may boldly aim, 
And catch at Franklin's tomb Worth's hallow'd flame." 

Franklin had directed, in his will, that a 
plain stone, six feet by four, should be placed 
over his and his wife's grave, with the follow- 
ing inscription, which is yet to be seen mark- 
ing the spot. 



BENJAMIN 

AND ).FKANKLIN. 

DEBOKAH 

1790. 



(•■ 



Instead of spending his money foolishly in 
a costly monument, he left a handsome sum 
the interest of which was to be loaned to poor 
young men just starting in business as me- 
chanics, in Boston and Philadelphia. This 
evid^ce of his kindness yet remains. 

As Dr. Franklin's name has been frequently 
mentioned in this memoir in connection with 
Christ Church, Philadelphia, the reader will 
be glad to peruse these items, collected from 
the Parish Register, by the venerable Dr. 
Dorr, the present rector. 

,. " It would appear from the records that he 
was a pew-holder there, from about the time 
of his marriage, in 1730, to the period of his 
decease, in 1790 ; that isf for sixty years. 



"250 LIFE OF FKANKLIN. 

The records sliow the baptism of two of his 
children, Francis Folger, Sept. 16th, 1T33, and 
Sarah, Oct. 2Tth, 1713 ; also the marriage of 
his daughter Sarah to Richard Bache, Oct. 
29th, 1T6T. 

"His son Francis was buried in Christ Church 
ground, l^ov., 1736 ; his wife, Dec. 22d, 1771; 
himself, April 21st, 1790 ; his daughter, Mrs. 
Bache, Oct. 7th, 1808 ; and her husband, 
Richard Bache, July 30th, 1811. These all 
lie by the side of each other. • 

" In 1739, a subscription paper was drawn 
up, for raising funds to finish the new church 
and Dr. Franklin's name appears on the sub 
scription list. He also subscribed, in 1751. 
towards building a steeple and purchasing a 
chime of bells. • 

" In 1752, and again in 1753, he was ap- 
pointed by vestry one of thirteen managers of 
a lottery, to raise twelve hundred pounds, for 
finishing the steeple and paying for the bells. 

" The pew in Christ Church, which he held at 
the time of his death, he had rented for thirty 
years, at least, and probably much longer. It 
was afterwards held by his children, Mr. and 
Mrs. Bache. It is now pew No. 25, on the 
north side of the 'fniddle aisle." 



EULOGY BY MIRABEAU. 257 

£/ongress was in session in 'New York at the 
time of Franklin's death. On receipt of the 
intelligence, a resolution was passed that the 
members should wear the customary badge of 
mourning one month, as a mark of the venera- 
tion due to the memory of a citizen " whose 
native genius was not more an ornament to 
human nature than his various exertions of it 
have been to science, to freedom, and to his 
country." 

When the decease of the philosopher and 
statesman was known in France, it was an- 
nounced in the National Assembly by M. Mi- 
rabeau, the elder, who proposed, after a burst 
of eulogy full of the spirit of the age and the 
enthusiasm of a Frenchman, that the Assembly 
should wear mourning for three days, to " par- 
ticipate in the homage rendered in the face of 
the universe to the rights of man, and to the 
philosopher who had so eminently propagated 
the conquest of them throughout the world." 
The proposition was seconded by Kochefou- 
cauld and Lafayette, and adopted by acclama- 
tion. It was also resolved that the address 
of Mirabeau should be printed, and that a 
letter of condolence should be addressed to 
the Congress of the United States. This duty 

22* 



258 LIFE OF FRANKLIN. 

was performed by the President of the Assem- 
bly : and upon the receipt of the letter, Con- 
gress, by resolution, desired President Wash- 
ington to " communicate to the IN'ational As- 
sembly of France the peculiar sensibility of 
Congress to the tribute paid to the memory of 
Benjamin Franklin by the enlightened and 
free representatives of a great nation;" and 
Washington, in his answer, happily acknowl- 
edged this peculiar proof of national courtesy. 

We need pronounce no eulogium upon Dr. 
Franklin. May the young men of this, and of 
succeeding generations, strive to emulate his 
virtues. 



THE END. 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



LIFE OF GENERAL WASHINGTON. 

BY THE EEV. J. N. NORTON. 



!>(rotices of t!)e ^Pcess. 

In our boyish days, Weems' Life of Washington was the 
delight of all the juniors, and the warm, glowing pages 
of the eccentric parson have fired the patriotism of many 
a boy, and of many a girl, too. That work has nearly or 
quite disappeared. For a long time there has been no 
good Life of Washington in the market short enough for 
the use of those who have neither money to purchase nor 
time to read the great works of Marshall, Sparks, and 
Irving. The Church Book Society of New York has con- 
ferred a benefit upon the whole people of the United 
States by employing the ever ready pen of our friend and 
neighbor, the Eev. J. N. Norton, of Frankfort, Ky., to 
supply this desideratum. The result is an exceedingly 
pleasant and instructive duodecimo volume of four hun- 
dred pages, which young and old of all classes can read 
with delight. — Louisville Journal. 

All who are familiar with the other able and interesting 
works of the author, will be glad to see that he has em- 
ployed his pen in preparing for the young a Life of the 
** father of his country." We take pleasure in commend- 
ing it to their attention. — Christian Witness. 
50 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

The author of this work — the Kev. Mr. Norton, of 
Frankfort, Ky . , to whom we are indebted for many excel- 
lent volumes— while so shaping the narrative that Wash- 
ington, as a man and a Christian, should not be over- 
shadowed by the military hero, has also, within a brief 
space, recorded the principal events of his life, in a man- 
ner which can not fail to interest all classes of readers. — 
Chicago Record. 

In this volume, better than in any other brief biography 
of Washington, are brought out the depth and strength 
of his religious convictions, and the steadiness with which 
his .profession asa Churchman was maintained throughout 
life. Moreover, it shows in how great a degree the strong 
leading outlines of his character were influenced, if not 
moulded, by the system of the Church— imperfectly as it 
was then understood and carried out in many important 
particulars. These peculiarities give a very desirable and 
proper tone to Mr. Norton's work, though they do not 
usurp an undue share of attention. The narrative of the 
two great wars in which Washington was engaged, and of 
the other leading incidents in his career, is marked by all 
the author's well-known ease, clearness, and spirit. — 
Church Journal. 

Of all the Lives of Washington which have been given 
to the public, none has pleased us more than the one now 
before us, as being specially adapted for thg perusal of the 
young. The noble character of Washington, the pure 
motives which influenced his conduct from the commence- 
ment of his career till the day of his death, his indomita- 
ble perseverance under the most discouraging circum- 
stances, and last, but far from least, his religious character, 
render him a fit model to be placed before the rising 
generation for their admiration and imitation. — Churchman. 
51 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

The religious character, the Churchmanship of Washing- 
ton is brought out in this volume. This iif done in a just 
and admirable manner, and it is in this light that this 
great man should be viewed and contemplated by the 
youth of our country* It is a life. It makes us know 
Washington, from first to last, with sufficient detail and 
incident. The style is excellent, and the narrative sus- 
tains a full interest to the end. It is a remarkably good 
book, and should be the delight of all the youth in our 
Church. Mr. Norton's books are all good, but this one 
has a special interest, and evinces great industry and in- 
quiry in the preparation of it. No Sunday School Library, 
no family should be without it. — Banner of the Cross. 

This is a new volume of four hundred pages, and will no 
doubt interest the class of readers for whose benefit it has 
been written. Its main design, while recording the prom- 
inent events in the life of " the father of his country," is 
to show that Washington the man and the Christian 
should not be overshadowed by Washington the military 
hero. — Western Episcopalian. 

We have here the latest of the series of biographies 
which Mr. Norton has been issuing for the past few years. 
Mr. Norton's very pleasant style is exhibited in this as in 
his previous works, and we think that in his attempt '* to 
present a biography which shall at once be interesting 
and improving to readers of every class," he has succeeded 
remarkably well. — Episcopal Recorder. 

For young persons, this is the best Life of Washington 
we have seen. The important and interesting incidents in 
the history of that great and good man are grouped to- 
gether \vith skill, while the attention of the reader is 
always pointed to the moral lessons they convey. Wash- 
ington's Churchmanship is indicated in language not to be 
rms.tok.QXi. — Gospel Messenger. 

52 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

The Churclj has been, and continues to be, much in- 
debted to Mr. Norton for furnishing, and to the Church 
Book Society for publishing, much of deep interest to the 
evangelical and catholic cause. The records of the life of 
George Washington should be kept fresh, and in abundant 
supply, for successive generations, and extensive circula- 
tion. The work nove before us, doing full justice to every 
other department of that great and good man's claims to 
veneration, confidence, and love, very properly gives 
prominence to those connected with his character as a 
Christian. We know of no biography of Washington that, 
within so limited a compass, gives a fuller and fairer view 
of the Father of his Country, and the great events and 
circumstances with which he was connected through life. 
It is well adapted to mingle into the studies of the young, 
and the reading of those who have not much time to 
spare. — Churchman' s 3Ionthly Magazine. 

Mr. Norton has done, and done well, the noblest work 
to which, as yet, he has devoted his pen, in preparing for 
the youth of our country a "Life of General Washing- 
ton." It is full and satisfactory in just that respect in 
which Everett' s graceful biography is defective. Through- 
out the narrative, which is very well written, Mr. Norton 
constantly bears testimony to that one element in Wash- 
ington's character which emphatically made him what he 
was— his personal piety. 

To Mr. Norton, and to the "Church Book Society," the 
whole Church is greatly indebted for this beautiful vol- 
ume, which can not fail to do great good. — Church Review. 
63 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS 



CHURCH BOOK SOCIETY. 



Arthur and Marion's Sundays are pretty little 

volumes, published by the Protestant Episcopal Sunday 
School Union, and written by the sisters Mrs. Bradley and 
Miss Neely, already known as the authors of "Bread 
upon the Waters" and "Ellie Randolph," with other 
kindred stories for children and young people. ' ' Arthur, 
by Mrs. Bradley, is a collection of tales and ballads that 
approach Mary Howitt by their grace and naturalness, 
while a pure religion as well as morality distinguishes them 
from the elder favorite of the children. " Marion's Sun- 
days," by Miss Neely, is a series of illustrations of the 
Ten Commandments, woven together in a single story. Its 
teachings are simple, clear, and withal attractive. Only 
mothers and teachers know the great worth of such aids 
to Sunday instruction. — Godey's Lady's Book. 

Ash Wednesday in the Nursery and Miss Laura's 

Weddinff Day are by the author of a nice Christmas 
book, "Philip and Arthur." This writer's style is ex- 
tremely natural and sparkling. We know of no books 
that have more vividness of narrative, combined with the 
best teachings. — Godey's Lady's Book. 

The Toll-Gate is a good little story, illustrating God's 
guidance in every event of our lives. — Godey's Lady's Book. 
54 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 

Thoughts on the Services. Designed as an Introduc- 
tion to the Liturgy, and an Aid to its Devout Use. By 
A. Cleveland Coxe, Eector of Grace Church, Baltimore. 
Tliis is the third edition of a work which we have al- 
ready favorably noticed. Encouraged hy the reception 
given to the other editions, the author tells us that he has 
labored to make this edition more worthy of general adop- 
tion as an auxiliary to Christian education. It gives an 
interesting view of the Scriptures for the different Sun- 
days, Festivals, and Fasts of the Christian year.— Christian 
Witness. 

The Sunday School Liturgy : comprising an Office of 

Devotion hy Bishop Hobart, a short Office of Devotion, 

and Hymns for Sunday Schools, selected from the Prayer 

Book and other sources. 

With the first part of this work our Sunday Schools are 
generally familiar. The ' ' Short Office' ' is adopted and 
approved in some places. The hymns differ mostly from 
those in the old Liturgy, many of them being adapted to 
various seasons of the ecclesiastical year. — Gosj)d Messenger. 

The Rectory of Valehead ; or. The Edifice of a Holy 
Home. By the Eev. Eobert Wilson Evans, B.D., Vicar 
of Heversham. 

We thank the publisher for a reprint of this very at- 
tractive book. It presents a series of fragmentary but 
delightful pictures for pleasant and profitable contempla- 
tion. — Christian Witness. 

Lilias and her Cousins. By the author of "Thomas 

Jackson" and "Walter Seyton." 

This is a tale of Phinter Life in the Old Dominion, well 
calculated to interest and instruct the young. — Christian 



57 



. CRITICAL NOTICES. 

Moravian Life; or, An English Girl's Account of a Mo- 
ravian Settlement in the Black Forest. Edited by the 
author of " Mary Powell." 

An English girl, having been sent to a Moravian school, 
keeps a daily journal, which is in this book laid before the 
public. It is deeply interesting, not from any account of 
startling and thrilling incidents, but from the view which 
it enables one to obtain of the character of the Moravians, 
and the influence of their peculiar system upon the daily 
conduct. Their doctrines are said to be the same as ours. 
Their ministry is declared by an able divine, who has 
thoroughly examined the subject, to be in tlie regular line 
of the Apostolic succession. Their mode of \vorship is, for 
the most part, by a liturgy. Music, however, is a much 
more prominent feature with them than with us. Festi- 
vals are abundant. But what most charms the reader is 
the " simplicity and godly sincerity" which seems to per- 
vade the whole of Moravian life. None can fail to admire 

and love the Moravians. — Gospd Messenger. 

• 

The Children's Chant Book : A Collection of Chants 

and Carols for Sunday Schools and Classes. — Part I. 

New York : Church Book Society. 

This pamphlet of 32 pages contains music particularly 
for Sunday Schools, besides pieces proper for the Church 
Service, and various carols and songs which a child would 
delight to sing, especially during Christmas-tide. Its price 
is 3 cents only. — Calendar. 

The Church Primer. Much larger than the "Union 
Primer, ' ' and a decided improvement upon it. Every page 
has from one to three beautiful wood-cuts. The picture 
alphabet is the best we have seen. The exercises in spell- 
ing and reading are progressive, and adapted to the 
capacities of infant minds. — Gospel Messenger. 
58 



CKITICAL NOTICES. 



ADDRESSES 



CANDIDATES FOR ORDINATION, 

ON THE 

auESTiojfs m the ordi^sution service. 

BY THE BISHOP OF OXFORD. 



Every Priest, when not prevented by the urgent calls of 
parochial duty, ought to review the Ordination Service on 
every anniversary of his admission to holy orders. Here 
is a book well worthy his attention in connection with 
this subjecl:. It has an Address based on each inquiry put 
to the candidate for Ordination— twelve Addresses in all. 
It is needless to say that they are highly suggestive, in- 
fitructive, and encouraging, while abounding with solemn 
warnings, since they were delivered by such a man as the 
Bishop of Oxford, and delivered by him at successive 
Ordinations in his diocese. But we recommend this vol- 
ume specially to students in Divinity, who have yet in 
prospect their reception of the commission of a Minister 
of Jesus Christ. They will find in this book much ex- 
planative of the meaning of the Ordinal, and much nobly 
calculated to stir their holiest affections, and to induce 
many serious reflections on the responsibilities of the 
sacred office. This would, indeed, constitute a good text- 
book in Pastoral Theology -—Calendar. 
65 



CRITICAL NOTICES. 



BLIND LILIAS; 

OB, 

FELl^OWSHIP WITH QOD 

A TALE FOR THE YOUG. 

BY A LADY. 



The triumphs of evangelical principle are graphically 
delineated in this simple and beautiful narrative. It tells 
of discipline in affliction, and of its gradual work in re- 
fining and rectifying corrupt nature. By degrees the 
perverse will is overcome, and the heart renewed in 
righteousness, till the kingdom of God is established in 
the soul. With an intimate knowledge of human nature, 
and a charming naturalness, the lady author has brought 
before us the life-like portraiture of a young and ingenu- 
ous girl, affectionate, impressible, and impulsive, but 
wayward and self-willed ; full of warm and generous 
feelings, but perverse, proud, and passionate ; with a mind 
of superior power and great intelligence, but headstrong 
and impatient of control — a character needing the severe 
chastening with which, in the providence of God, she is 
visited, to prepare her heart to receive the heavenly 
leaven. Finally, the child of nature becomes the child 
of grace, and walks in fellowship with God. This story 
abounds with interesting incidents. The volume is beau- 
tifully gotten up, and adorned with plates. -Calendar. 
66 



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